England hooker Maud Muir is eagerly anticipating the start of the 2024/25 season, as the Red Roses prepare for a Test match with their Women’s Six Nations rivals France. The fixture is the first of two warm-up games ahead of the upcoming WXV campaign, when John Mitchell’s side jet out to Canada in search of retaining their first division title.
The battle against Les Bleus carries an added element of excitement for Muir, as the host venue is Kingsholm Stadium, the home of Gloucester Rugby and Gloucester-Hartpury. A proud member of the Cherry and White Circus that routinely entertains the Kingsholm faithful, Muir is buzzing at the prospect of a packed out ‘shed’, with Kingsholm’s fabled stand set to generate a fearsome atmosphere in support of the Red Roses.
“It’s really cool. I think especially in the last two years at Gloucester girls, we’ve played at Kingsholm, a lot more. I think that is kind of more of our home ground, rather than the one at Hartpury. So it is really special. I remember playing Wales there a few years ago, and that was incredible. Hopefully it will feel even more like a home game, because we (England) move around quite a lot.”
“Hopefully on Saturday we have the same amount of England supporters (as 2022 Women’s Six Nations match v Wales), hopefully not many French and it echoes through the whole stadium, I think the shed is an incredible part of the club. You do get a lot of people, you know, it’s harsh! They are very harsh in the shed, but I think that adds to it, and it winds the other team up, which I mean, is a bit unsportsmanlike, but it’s Gloucester!”
“It’s like the 16th man or woman. They really rally for you, and you can hear them. You can definitely hear them. Gloucester fans are very loud, so hopefully we get that on Saturday.”
The 23-year-old will have her own personal supporters club coming to the game, with her Dad in attendance with a “bus load of his old man club friends” packing in the Kingsholm shed. Half-Scottish on her fathers side, Muir’s Dad will be easy to spot in the crowd of Red Roses shirts and French tricolours, as the proud Scotsman always wears his Scottish thistle-embossed hat to his daughter’s England fixtures, as a gentle reminder of the local rivals North of the border.
Muir is not alone in her excitement of returning to the home of Gloucester-Hartpury, which was re-branded to ‘Queensholm’ for the Circus’ PWR league title triumph last season. Muir is joined by the likes of lock Zoe Aldcroft and scrum half Natasha ‘Mo’ Hunt, as Gloucester-Hartpury stars that will be swapping the Cherry and White kit for the famous white jerseys of the Red Roses.
“It’s so cool having so many Gloucester. I think when everyone comes into camp, we’re all good mates, and it doesn’t really matter what club you are, but obviously it’s just nice having familiar faces and playing alongside people. The likes of Zoe (Aldcroft) being able to know her in the line out and Mo (Hunt), being able to know where she’s going to put the ball in front of me, it does definitely help.”
Muir, Aldcroft and Hunt are amongst the more experienced members of the England squad, that are preparing to take on France this Saturday. Throughout what has been a long pre-season for the Red Roses, head coach John Mitchell has called up an assortment of uncapped players to the wider training group, who are all gunning for an appearence in the warm-up games against France and New Zealand.
Muir expressed how the newer faces in the squad aren’t afraid to share their opinions, with space for everyone to share their thoughts at the Red Roses training sessions.
“It’s very important to gel as a team. Obviously lots of new faces and yeah, I think we’re just trying to build as a team. Keep growing, keep learning and keep working on our bond as a team.”
“I think they’re ability to just launch themselves in, not be scared of anything. I think when I first came in, I was very scared to speak up, but the younger generation especially are very keen to speak, and I think that’s really important to hear their voices and for all of us to respect everyone’s opinion. It’s just impressive, they’ve all stood out in training as well, which is really impressive.”
Whilst the fixture against France is billed as a warm-up match for England ahead of the incoming WXV campaign, the fixture also acts as an excellent opportunity to lay down the marker ahead of next year’s 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. France are certainly amongst leading pack for next year’s title, with captain Manae Feleu previously telling Ruck how France are eager to bring the trophy home.
Furthermore, the match has a significant hold on the scale as a sporting spectacle, with the Red Roses rightfully back on free-to-air broadcast TV in the UK. The fixtures against France and the Black Ferns will be shown live on BBC One, and Muir understands how significant this is to continue to grow women’s rugby ahead of a showpiece year.
“Just being able to be on, free to view TV, it just makes it more accessible for everyone. So, it’s just really exciting for everyone to be able to watch it and not have to pay for a streaming site and hopefully, more people watch it as well and become influenced by it.”