The Red Roses are set to kick off their 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign with a sold-out clash against Italy at York’s LNER Community Stadium on Sunday. Head coach John Mitchell has named his squad, with Lilli Ives Campion and Mia Venner making their full international debuts. Loughborough Lightning lock Ives Campion and Gloucester-Hartpury wing Venner will both earn their first Red Roses starts, with Venner’s previous international experience dating back to her 2020 debut as a 17-year-old against Wales. Ives Campion, meanwhile, made her first senior England appearance in last September’s WXV warm-up match against France.
Joining Venner in the back three is Exeter Chiefs’ Claudia MacDonald, making her return to international rugby after a 16-month absence, and Gloucester-Hartpury’s Emma Sing, the PWR’s top points scorer. Sing’s last Red Roses appearance came in the 2023 WXV tournament against Australia. In the midfield, Bristol Bears’ Holly Aitchison pairs up with the vastly experienced Emily Scarratt, who boasts 116 caps. Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning) and Lucy Packer (Harlequins) form the half-back partnership. Up front, Saracens’ Rosie Galligan partners Ives Campion in the second row, while Kelsey Clifford (Saracens) and Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury) pack down alongside Leicester Tigers hooker Amy Cokayne. England’s captain for the match, Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), starts at blindside flanker, with vice-captain Marlie Packer (Saracens) at openside and Exeter Chiefs’ Maddie Feaunati at number eight.
The bench features two uncapped players, with Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Flo Robinson and Gloucester-Hartpury’s Jade Shekells in line to make their international debuts. Shekells, a key figure for Great Britain’s Sevens team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has been highlighted by Mitchell as a strong fit for England’s 12 profile.
While winning a seventh consecutive Women's Six Nations title is high on England's agenda, the competition will provide opportunities for players to stake their claims for spots in Mitchell's squad at the home Rugby World Cup starting in August 2025. That is reflected in his selection for the Italy fixture, with the New Zealander saying he wants to "use the competition for places to England's advantage". He said: "2025 starts with the end in mind. It's important to realise we’ll need two teams to operate this year to play 13 Test matches. We wouldn’t call it rotation. It’s one team operating as two. The planning is very much around that and it would be stupid not to plan with that in mind. So we've started with this team against Italy. It has an exciting mix in it."
England will start as strong favourites against Italy, who finished fifth in the 2024 tournament, winning just one of their five games. Last year's Six Nations meeting between the sides saw England dominate with a 48-0 victory in Parma, despite having Sarah Beckett sent off in the first half.
Alex Matthews will be absent from the match after receiving a three-match suspension for a dangerous tackle in a recent Premiership Women's Rugby final victory over Saracens. This ban means she will miss not only the opener against Italy but also the second round against Wales. Matthews could potentially return for the match against Ireland on April 12 if she completes World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme.
The match kicks off on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at 15:00 GMT, with coverage available on BBC Two, iPlayer, and live on the BBC Sport website.
