4. The return of Sarah McKenna – U20s coach back involved with the Red Roses
One of the selected names that drummed up a solid level of intrigue, was the return of Sarah McKenna to the Red Roses playing group. The Saracen made her England debut back in 2011, and has not been consistently involved with the senior squad since the 2023 Women’s Six Nations.
The fullback has since taken up an assistant coach role with the England Women U20s, and Mitchell has been impressed with her bringing through the next generation of Red Roses. McKenna’s selection for the pre-season Summer camp was admittedly unexpected, with Mitchell confirming how the 34-year-old’s role revolves around preparing the starters and match day squad.
JOHN MITCHELL: “Yeah, I’ve actually witnessed Sarah as a coach with the under-20s and she’s very passionate in that area, so it was good to watch their progress. It was obviously difficult to watch their last performance against France and Italy (defeats in the 2024 U20 Women’s Six Nations.)
“Putting that aside, Sarah presents a utility option, so I like her skill set at 12, so that’s the ability to distribute as well as beat people one-on-one and she can also fill in for you at fullback. So, you do have to have some squad members that potentially aren’t going to get a lot of time, but contribute more to the group in terms of its preparation and how it works together and bonds off the field, and she’s superb in that area.”
“We’ll definitely have a chat, we take it week by week, it’s good for her. I think I surprised her when I caught up with her about the objectives around bringing her back, and the reasons. It takes a special person to commit to something when the fruition might not actually be a lot of test minute rugby, but she’s a little toughie as well.”
5. Ellie Kildunne & Meg Jones Return from Olympic Sevens and U20s star Lilli Ives Campion gets the call-up
The Red Roses welcomed back their two resident Olympians, as Meg Jones and Ellie Kildunne are back in camp following their run with the Great Britain Women’s Rugby Sevens squad. The Harlequin and Leicester Tigers stars were unable to lead Team GB to the medals podium, and had to settle for a seventh place finish in the overall rankings.
Also, there has been an exciting call-up for Lilli-Ives Campion, as the Loughborough Lightning star is steadily emerging as one of the PWR’s top young talents. Having impressed all onlookers throughout her time as the captain of the England U20s, the lock has been fast-tracked into the Red Roses set-up, and could well make her senior Test debut next month against France or New Zealand.
JOHN MITCHELL: “Yeah, they’ve (Kildunne and Jones) been good. Obviously they came in for an introduction the week before and it was more of us actually saying ‘get out and decompress’, so I think they’ve had their little breaks, but Ellie likes photography so she couldn’t keep away (from the squad). They’re both back in there with lots of energy and they’ve had a good week so far.”
“I think it’s really important to reward some of the under-20 girls to let them know that they have the ability to play Test rugby for the Red Roses. I think that’s helpful to the other girls that may not quite believe that’s in their lives right at the minute. So the more that we can connect with the pathway, the more that we can get the right skill sets, the right physical, tactical and emotional support down there.
“So I think we’ve still got a lot of work to do in that area, but we’ve definitely started just seeing the benefits of the men’s under-20s. I think if we put a really good focus in there, which we are, but we’re only in the infancy of it. So I think it’s really important.”