England prepare in Nottingham with smaller ball, anthem test and demanding WXV schedule

England's women's rugby squad, led by head coach John Mitchell, are in Nottingham this month for pre-season as they prepare for the WXV Global Series, Mitchell said on 12 August 2026.

Mitchell, who has been England head coach since 2023, outlined the fixtures for the new competition and recent changes inside the camp. England will face Australia, Canada and New Zealand on home soil in September and then travel to play Canada and the USA in October; the Red Roses were last seen winning another Six Nations' Grand Slam. Mitchell spoke to reporters about equipment changes, squad contracts and coaching additions ahead of the series.

World Rugby's new size 4.5 balls, described as about 3% smaller but the same weight as a regulation size five, are now in use at England's camp and will be used for the WXV Global Series. The introduction has drawn criticism, with England fly-half Zoe Harrison calling it "the worst decision someone has ever made" in May. Mitchell said the attacking players and kickers were all given one to take home for the holidays and argued coaching is the key factor: "If you want to get better at something, regardless of the size of the ball, it's all about coaching. So I think our girls have been well-coached," he said.

Mitchell added caution on immediate effects from the smaller ball, stating: "I think it's too early for for me to say that it's going to help our offloading game or it's going to help out with the pass. I'm sure there's consequences as well. "There might be more contestable kicking, which is probably something that we want to keep away from our game because it's a point of difference between our game and the men's game." He noted World Rugby held a trial for the smaller balls with female players on the top-tier Sevens circuit in November and said the trial "certainly might help other teams" while suggesting clearer conclusions will arrive after the first three Tests at home.

During the summer break Mitchell completed UK citizenship, an exercise that included a test covering British history and geography and singing the national anthem. He recounted that his examiner could not find the anthem music and he offered to play it from his device: "'I've got it on my Apple Music, is it OK if I play it?' So I played it and I belted it out, and she goes, 'No-one's ever done that before'. "I said, 'I've had plenty of practice'."

The England squad's contract round for 2026-27 included 32 full-time deals, with Gloucester-Hartpury wing Mia Venner and Exeter scrum-half Flo Robinson receiving their first full-time England contracts last month. Robinson, who won her first senior England cap in March 2025, was singled out by Mitchell as a potential successor at scrum-half: "Will we get Mo [Natasha Hunt] to the next World Cup? We don't know. So it's very important to make sure that we're growing our next player and Flo's definitely taking that on," he said. Mitchell confirmed that veterans Hunt, aged 37, and Harlequins' Marlie Packer, aged 36, are double world champions included in the latest contract round and added that for either player to depart "somebody's got to come and get their jersey".

Emily Scarratt has joined the England set-up full-time as attack and backs coach after leaving her assistant role at Loughborough Lightning and serving on an interim basis during the Six Nations. Mitchell said Scarratt's presence makes the coaching group "smarter" and described the evolving remit he has given her: "When Em first started, I didn't want to overwhelm her with a with a whole lot of stuff so I gave her a pretty tight remit. "You just give away a little bit... She certainly has the ability to take the total attack."

Mitchell reiterated that the new WXV Global Series is composed solely of Test matches without a table or trophy, saying: "There's no tournament to win so we can be very patient about how we go about things." England will play six matches in the series, including three against Canada, whom they beat in the 2025 Rugby World Cup final, a sequence Mitchell described as "really cool." He warned the itinerary is a logistical challenge, noting the travel from Manchester to Exeter, to Twickenham, to Canada and the USA and adding: "It's kind of like you're auditioning for Australia 2029 because geographically we're definitely going to be travelling some distance in this tournament," he said. "So, I think we're trying to mirror that, understand how important our connections are and play exciting rugby."

England's immediate fixtures in the WXV Global Series are therefore home matches against Australia, Canada and New Zealand in September followed by away Tests against Canada and the USA in October, fixtures the team will use to assess the impact of the equipment changes and the integration of new players and coaches.