WXV and the American dream
The Red Roses are about to start their campaign for a second WXV 1 title as they travel to Vancouver, Canada for their first game on North American soil since 2019.
As well as taking on the Black Ferns, the team will play both Canada and the USA, two countries who enjoyed Olympic success in sevens, winning silver and bronze respectively.
England scrum half Natasha Hunt was impressed by the interest generated by their Olympic success.
She said: “People getting behind rugby out there, especially women’s rugby, has been awesome for the girls.
“It’s not historically a sport that people are familiar with there, so a boost like those medals going into a tournament like WXV will do wonders for teams like Canada and the USA.”
One of the drivers of North American rugby growth is USA Sevens star Ilona Maher, who became most followed rugby player in the world.
Hunt said: “What she’s done for the game is fantastic. I think a lot of people wish that was them and that they could build that kind of profile.
“At times, I find it quite challenging to stay on top of social media, to always produce things or show people what we’re up to because it can be emotionally draining.
“It’s a tough ask to do that week in week out, so for her to have taken everyone on that journey, hat’s off to her. I think it’s amazing for the sport in general, amazing for women’s rugby and for those out in America.”
Teammate Amy Cokayne explained that the $4m dollar investment that has come as a result of the USA’s Olympic bronze medal is proof of how effective social media can be.
While she doesn’t see herself becoming a TikTok star, Cokayne thinks there are a few members of the squad who have that potential.
“We do have some good characters in the squad who enjoy that kind of thing and enjoy putting their personality on and off the pitch out there for people to see,” she said.
“We spoke about it in one of our culture meetings and most of the girls thought, ‘fair play if that’s what you want to do, what makes you perform and what you’re comfortable doing then the more, the merrier.’”
The priority for the Red Roses, though, is securing back-to-back WXV 1 titles, having claimed the inaugural trophy last year, defeating the Black Ferns 33-12, with Louis Deacon in the interim head coach role ahead of John Mitchell starting as head coach.
This time round, Mitchell is in the driving seat and both players are excited to see how the team's developed under his guidance.
“We’ve made steps in the way that we want to play and that’s driven by him. Hopefully, there will be a noticeable change in the way we play now,” explained Cokayne.
“We want to play a lot more, to be ruthless and get as much rugby into that 80 minutes as possible. We want to play high tempo and really bring a lot of intensity to a game.”
Hunt also noted that this will be the first time the group have travelled on tour under Mitchell, saying “The Six Nations is a different thing entirely to a camp-based tour, but you can see the intensity that he’s trying to bring to our training.
“He’s a brilliant guy in terms of the honesty that he brings to us as a squad, the consistency that we bring as a squad. That’s something you can start to see unfolding, which I love.”
With Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 on the horizon, the team will have that in the back of their mind, but first and foremost they want to win WXV 1 again. As Hunt said, “We know it’s going to be a really tough challenge to go out there and win WXV, but that’s something we’ve got our sights set on and we’ll do everything we can.”
The team kick off their tournament against the USA on Sunday 29 September at 20:30 BST, before facing the Black Ferns on Sunday 6 October at 21:00 BST and Canada on Sunday 13 October at 03:00 BST.
The Red Roses will also return to Guinness Women's Six Nations action on Sunday 23 March and you can register your interest to be among the first to hear about tickets by following this link: Register interest
