Reaction to the Red Roses’ bonus-point victory over Italy

23 Mar 2025 | 3 min | 1

Reaction to the Red Roses’ bonus-point victory over Italy

Hear from player of the match Maddie Feaunati, captain Zoe Aldcroft, Claudia Macdonald, and John Mitchell following England’s 38-5 victory over Italy in their first game of the 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

Read how it happened

Maddie Feaunati, playing her first game at Number 8 for her country, earned player of the match. She was the top carrier on the pitch, making 104 metres and 15 tackles.

She said: “Italy definitely bought it to us and we expected that. We will review and go out there again next weekend. It is all about opportunity.

“We are ready to go and the depth in this squad is insane. I am super excited to keep learning from this group of players. We need to play in the moment and just take it game by game.”

Zoe Aldcroft, playing in her first game as the new Red Roses captain, said: “In the first half, we really came out firing. We created a lot of momentum. Around our breakdown, we let them into the game a little bit more. In the second half, we needed to keep that pressure on a little more than we did and just be a little bit more clinical in finishing our sets.

“We’re super excited to play at the Principality Stadium next week. We’ve never played there before. We’re excited to recharge this week, do a lot of hard training, and then head up to Wales."

Claudia Macdonald played her first game for her country after returning from a neck injury she sustained in February 2024.

She said: “Today felt really special. There were times when I thought I wouldn’t play for England again. Weirdly this week I didn’t feel like there was a game coming until I ran out in my anthem jacket today and it all sort of hit me. I did have a little tear in my eye.

“It feels amazing to be back in with the squad. The environment and the culture that we’ve built is amazing. The team has moved on since I was last in the squad, and I felt like a brand new player. The way we’re playing has progressed and is different, the language we’re using, the level of detail is immense. It felt like there was a lot to learn and a lot to catch up on."

Red Roses v Italy in Guinness Six Nations opener — Claudia Macdonald celebrates after scoring England's fourth try

Head Coach John Mitchell said: “We were really pleased that Italy brought it today. They threw a few punches at us, and we had to deal with that. If you don’t get punches, how do you learn to get better?

“Next week will be new combinations again, so we’ve got a little bit of work to do on cohesion. Hopefully, by the middle of the tournament, we’ll start to come together connection-wise.”

“It was awesome to see and hear the fans today. It’s really important because we have a really exciting World Cup coming up. It’s important we embrace our communities and inspire young girls to play the game. But it’s not only just girls – I think a greater audience will start to follow this team, and already is.”