England head coach John Mitchell has revealed that Zoe Aldcroft’s consistency sets The Lock apart as the perfect captain to lead the Red Roses to a home Rugby World Cup.
Aldcroft was named skipper in a huge year for England’s dominant side, replacing Marlie Packer in the role ahead of the Women’s Six Nations.
The veteran Packer’s place on the open side has started to come under threat as youngsters including Sadia Kabeya emerge, while lock Aldcroft is one of the first names on Mitchell’s team sheet after several years of exceptional performance.
Although not necessarily an effusive talker, the Gloucester-Hartpury striker is well-respected within the team and will hope to lead them to home glory in August and September.
Mitchell admitted he had been considering a captaincy change virtually since taking over as England head coach in 2023, with Aldcroft establishing himself as an ideal kindred spirit and leader.
“I like people who are consistent with their actions,” Mitchell explained. “Zoe is an athlete and a person who takes great pride in being consistent in her actions and she is the kind of leader we need in front of us.
“I’m not a big talker, Zoe’s not a big talker, but at the end of the day, the best place is your actions. This allows you to communicate effectively.
“Making a change is never an easy decision. We must respect what Marlie did for her country and in terms of leadership.
“When you have depth, then that person has to be a certainty on the team sheet. Unfortunately, we’ve gotten to a stage where there is competition at number seven, so it’s a tough decision.
“It’s never personal – I’ve been in this situation many times in my life and it’s not something that sits well with you.
“I had a few cups of tea in the evening and a few late nights, but at the end of the day it became very clear in my stomach that it was the right decision and it was what the team needed need.”
Packer, who takes on the role of vice-captain, has already provided significant support to the new skipper, who will also be able to count on the support of former captain Sarah Hunter when she returns from maternity leave.
Aldcroft captained his country for the first time on his 25th birthday in 2021 and takes on the role full-time as the team looks to move to another level to win a first World Cup since 2014.
“A big part of being a captain is leading by example,” Aldcroft said of his leadership style. “When I speak, I really mean what I say and I like to think about what I say.
“But it’s also about bringing everyone together around me and making sure everyone can be themselves and thrive in everything they do. It’s also really great to be supported by such an incredible management team who have so many different strengths and that together we can really lead this team to something special.
“We have enormous room for improvement. The Canada match [at WXV last year] really challenged us and we didn’t face that pressure too often as Red Roses. From this match we learned a lot about how we can be better.
“On the pitch we want to be unstoppable, but it’s about taking each day as it comes and seeing how we can develop individually each day in the future.”