Red Roses face revitalised Black Ferns at Twickenham after Canada draw
A week after Canada ended their winning run, England's World Cup winners, the Red Roses, meet New Zealand's Black Ferns at Twickenham this Saturday in a Test match. The fixture follows England being held to a draw by Canada last weekend.
The draw represented England's first non-win since 2022 and left their 40-game unbeaten streak with a blemish. The camp's biggest development this week was adding defence specialist Shaun Edwards as a coaching consultant earlier this week. The Tests do not get easier: England face the team that beat them in the World Cup final four years ago, while the Black Ferns are described as revitalised under Whitney Hansen, who has not yet lost since taking over the job in December of last year. England had beaten New Zealand in each of the three Tests between them over the past three years, although the nations have not met in two years.
England back-row Abi Burton said tight matches such as the draw with Canada can drive improvement. "I am not scared of losing any more, I am scared that we will become stagnant," Burton said. "I don’t think we are at that point because we constantly look to get better in training and push each other from a selection point of view. But ultimately you don’t know what you don’t know and if we are at the point of we don’t feel like we are potentially progressing … you do need that ‘they are actually here now, they are on our tails, we were fighting before but we need to fight even more now’. You learn more from the losses and the draws than you do the wins."
The head coach, John Mitchell, has said the 59-year-old is already forming good relationships with the players and Burton echoed that sentiment, noting a connection over rugby league. Burton noted her rugby league family background and her father Danny's playing days: "We got to have that moment of connection to have a chat about that, it felt really cool and special to share that with such a legend of the game," she said. "It helps you connect and learn about each other."
Burton also spoke about the effect Edwards has had on the group and the desire to raise standards. "That is something we haven’t had in a while," she said. "Obviously Scaz [Emily Scarratt] went into her coaching role but she has been a constant. I think that aura is so powerful and it makes us want to step up because it is like this man is legendary. You don’t want to let him down, you want to step up. You don’t realise you have another gear to give until you get put in that situation. I think it is super exciting that he has joined us and he will be a real asset to the squad."
The game will be played in front of almost 60,000 at Allianz Stadium almost a year to the day since the Rugby World Cup final, a game the Red Roses won after beating Canada. Prior to the tournament many had believed the showpiece in 2025 would have been between England and New Zealand; the Black Ferns did play on that final day but won the bronze medal after Canada beat them in the semi-final.
New Zealand lock Maiakawanakaulani Roos said downing the Red Roses is their target and that experience in England's PWR has helped their preparation. Roos herself played for Trailfinders, as did the captain Georgia Ponsonby, with others like Liana Mikaele-Tu’u competing for Harlequins. "We haven’t played them in two years and our game has grown so much and they have just gone from strength to strength," Roos said. "I am really excited to see how we go and turn up for the challenge that is the Red Roses. "I think we have seen how each other trains, seen the habits that we hold and it is so competitive. I really cannot wait to play them just because we know how they train now and how they do things. I think that is a bit of a point of difference that the girls who have played in the PWR have been able to help our team understand."
England’s goal this weekend will be to start a new winning streak, while New Zealand’s will be to make sure the Red Roses head to Canada in October with their world record firmly in the rear view.