Red Roses Name 36-Player Squad with 25 World Cup Winners — SkimNews
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- John Mitchell named a 36-player Red Roses squad containing 25 World Cup winners and a combined 1,234 international caps, with Megan Jones captaining and three uncapped players — Bryony Field, Hayley Jones and Sophie McQueen — included
- England open the home leg against Australia at CorpAcq Stadium in Manchester on Saturday 12 September, before facing Canada at Sandy Park in Exeter a week later in a repeat of the 2025 World Cup final
- New Zealand provide the closing fixture at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 26 September, with the source confirming over 50,000 spectators are expected for the Twickenham showpiece
- The 2026 season marks the inaugural WXV Global Series, with 12 participating nations locked in for the 2026–2028 cycle and no promotion or relegation — the Red Roses will tour Canada and the United States in October as part of the series
- Mitchell told reporters the squad is 'only four weeks old' and 'there is plenty in the tank,' framing the three-Test block as a chance to 'excite ourselves, and the country, by the way we play rugby'
Why it matters: This is the Red Roses' first assignment since winning the 2025 World Cup, and Mitchell has loaded his squad with 25 of those title-winning players while blooding three uncapped prospects — the 50,000-plus Allianz Stadium crowd for the New Zealand Test represents a landmark commercial and competitive moment for the women's game in England.
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