How Red Roses pathway supported preparations for 2025 Six Nations
Red Roses hooker Lark Atkin-Davies heralded the energy and enthusiasm shown by the young Red Roses pathway players as the team kicked off their 2025 Women’s Six Nations camp.
With Gloucester-Hartpury and Saracens squad members preparing for the PWR final during the past week, players from England U20s and U23s were called up to senior camp for exposure to the demands of top-level international rugby.
Speaking in the first episode of O2 Inside Line: All In, Atkin-Davies highlighted the importance of such experiences for the development of young players.
“It’s great to have the pathway players in. They’ve really been getting stuck in, and their detail and attention has just been class,” said Atkin-Davies.
“If I reflect on when I was that age, to have that opportunity to come to a Red Roses camp and learn from players in my position would have been amazing.”
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“If you can have that connection with a player and they can see what you’ve been through to get into an England shirt and they have something to aspire to, then that’s really important.
“It’s great for them to come in, see what it’s like and hopefully finish the camp wanting to be a Red Rose.”
Harlequins and England U20s lock Tyla Shirley says the experience has been highly valuable and she will take lessons from training with the Red Roses back into the England age-group setup.
“It’s been a big learning experience for all of us, me especially. The girls are really nice – they’re very encouraging and want us all to be on the same page. I want to bring those values and the empowering spirit into the U20s.
“We all want to train like Red Roses when we’re in this environment. This is where I want to be within the next couple of years!”
The Red Roses will be looking to win the Six Nations trophy for the seventh year in a row and continue their impressive run of form ahead of their home World Cup later this year.
This tournament will be Zoe Aldcroft’s first as captain, and the squad is bursting with talent from the PWR.
England begin their campaign against Italy at the LNER Community Stadium in York on Sunday 23 March.
