Vintage 1987
They didn’t run out of the players’ tunnel onto the Twickenham pitch, they didn’t hear the roar of the crowd, they didn’t see their names on the big screen.
They played, according to one of them, in front of “two men, a dog and our mums and dads.”
But a group of women who represented England in their very first international when they defeated Wales at Pontypool Park in 1987 have their names forever etched at The Home of England Rugby.
They were there in 2023 to see their names on an honours board in the England changing room opposite all the male players. They now call themselves The Vintage Roses and according to the Cambridge dictionary, one meaning of vintage is something of high quality and lasting value. It seems an apt title.
Karen Almond is player number 1 on the board. In 1994, she became the first English player – male or female – to lift a XVs World Cup. Pip Atkinson-Kennedy is number 2. She also coached, played and captained England Sevens in the inaugural Hong Kong Sevens.
Sally Cockerill is number 3, a flanker for Newport, who still has the match programme from that first Test and was there with seven other former Loughborough students.
One of those fellow students was Chris Gurney, number 5 on the board, Richmond flanker Tricia King is 7, Suzy Hill, who played scrum half, is 8. And Sam Robson, from Loughborough and Wasps is number 11.
Another Wasps player Claire Vyvyan is 13, and Emma Mitchell, who played scrum half and was another Loughborough player, is number 19. She captained her country and won 57 caps over 15 seasons.
Janis Ross, Sarries captain and blind-side flanker is number 20 and Wasps and Saracens prop Fiona Barnet is number 26.
Karen Almond led the squad into the England changing room, international caps were worn, faded white shirts were pulled from rucksacks and someone played a video of the inaugural Test on her phone. They looked for their names, their numbers. They reminisced and lined up in the players’ tunnel.
Karen Almond, who had travelled from her home in New Zealand, said: “Seeing our names there is emotional. I never thought I’d see it in my lifetime, but I always hoped we’d have some recognition. This is amazing.”
Emma Mitchell agreed: “When our playing numbers for England were being researched, I thought they would appear somewhere and it’s perfect that our names are here. From Karen at 1 to May Campbell at 255, every woman who has played for England is here and I think it’s brilliant.”
And there too among the Vintage Roses was Peter Kennedy, who coached the team between 1999 and 2002, including to two Grand Slams, as well as coaching Saracens women.
“They were great to coach,” he recalls. “They had no preconceptions and just soaked it all up. “When I was in the Pioneers’ Room at the record-breaking England v France Grand Slam in April, there were so many people there who’d been involved in the women’s game over the years. The biggest crowd in the days when I coached was 5,000 in Paris, almost all French, and we won.
“To see Twickenham with a crowd of almost 60,000 for that Test, and to know the work taking place in clubs like Exeter, Harlequins and Ealing Trailfinders is just amazing.”
Anyone who has played for the Red Roses and retired can join the group of Vintage Roses. Sarah Hunter already has, and the pioneers who were there at the start welcomed her to a vintage being celebrated at last. Pretty sure they’ll drink to that!
