England v Italy live: Lineups and updates from Women's Six Nations

Telegraph

23-03-2025

2:36PM
Previous encounters
2024: Italy 0-48 England
2023: England 68-5 Italy
2022: Italy 0-74 England
2021: Italy 3-67 England
2020: Italy 0-54 England
2:32PM
Ilona Maher: Rugby's biggest star since Jonah Lomu
Since winning bronze at last year's Paris Olympics with the United States sevens team, Ilona Maher has embarked on a never-ending roller-coaster ride.
She has graced red carpets, dazzled on chat shows, won industry awards and acquired a growing portfolio of sponsorship deals, all of which have elevated her to a supersonic level of stardom. Not since Jonah Lomu burst onto the scene with his headline performances for New Zealand in the mid-Nineties has the world been this infatuated with a rugby player.
While Maher has embraced her calling as both a global phenomenon and a spokesperson for the women's game, the most followed rugby player on social media admits to finding it somewhat exhausting.
Click here for more.
2:25PM
'Pumped to watch the Red Roses'
It's a sell-out today at the LNER Community stadium in York, with a crowd of around 8,500 expected. The traffic was chocka around the ground so I ditched my taxi and walked along an A-road with a local, whose 14-year-old daughter is a flagbearer for today's match. He admitted he was more of a league guy but was pumped to watch the Red Roses. 'It's great to see there's so much women's sport on the telly nowadays isn't it?'' Right you are, sir. (And in case you're wondering, he had heard of Ilona Maher).
2:22PM
England captain Zoe Aldcroft: My Jonny Wilkinson doll inspires me
Zoe Aldcroft rummages in her rugby bag and pulls out a knitted figure. 'This is Jonny,' beams the Red Roses lock, sporting a gap-toothed smile as she passes over a questionable lookalike of Jonny Wilkinson, England's 2003 World Cup hero, in his Toulon kit.
Aldcroft was given it by a childhood friend when she left home, aged 16, to pursue rugby at Hartpury College. It was also the age she discovered that there was an England women's team – she had lacked female rugby role models growing up so Wilkinson filled the void.
Fast forward more than a decade and England's new captain is sitting in a coffee shop that sponsors Gloucester-Hartpury, the three-time Premiership Women's Rugby champions and the club that have helped to mould Aldcroft into an irrepressible force in the game. A week ago, she mingled with her counterpart, Maro Itoje, on an England rugby photoshoot. Times may have changed, but Aldcroft has not. Her Jonny doll has occupied a ritualistic place in her kit bag since her teenage years and her meticulous attention to detail bears an uncanny likeness to the English rugby great.
For more from Fiona Tomas' interview with England's new captain, click here.
2:16PM
Women's Six Nations 2025: Fixtures, how to watch and England's venues
We have you covered with everything you need to know about the tournament. From the latest news to England's squad and fixtures you can find out all the information right here.
2:12PM
England arriving
2:06PM
Women's Six Nations fixtures
Saturday March 22
Ireland 15-27 France
Scotland 24-21 Wales
Sunday March 23
England vs Italy, 3pm
Saturday March 29
France vs Scotland, 1pm
Wales vs England, 4.45pm
Sunday March 30
Italy vs Ireland, 3pm
Saturday April 12
France vs Wales, 12.45pm
Ireland vs England, 4.45pm
Sunday April 13
Scotland vs Italy, 3pm
Saturday April 19
Italy vs France, 1pm
England vs Scotland, 4.45pm
Sunday April 20
Wales vs Ireland, 3pm
Saturday April 26
Italy vs Wales, 12.15pm
Scotland vs Ireland, 2.30pm
England vs France, 4.45pm
2:02PM
Teams
England starting XV: Sing; Venner, Scarratt, Aitchison, MacDonald; Rowland, L Packer; Clifford, Cokayne, Muir, Galligan, Ives Campion, Aldcroft (capt), M Packer, Feaunati.
Replacements: Campbell, Botterman, Bern, Ward, Kabeya, Robinson, Shekells, Kildunne.
Italy starting XV: Ostuni Minuzzi; Muzzo, D'Inca, Rigoni, Granzotto; Madia, Stefan (capt); Turani, Gurioli, Seye, Fedrighi, Duca, Veronese, Locatelli, Sgorbini.
1:58PM
World Cup preparations ramping up
The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup is on the horizon and England Women get their 2025 Six Nations campaign going in York against Italy looking to win a seventh title in a row. John Mitchell's side, who are currently ranked number one in the world, have won 20 games in a row and have not lost since he took charge in autumn 2023, meaning they have won 50 of their last 51 Test matches. They claimed their third successive Six Nations Grand Slam last year and are unsurprisingly favourites this year as they continue to build towards a home World Cup in the summer. Ahead of the game, Mitchell has emphasised that the importance of the Six Nations as a tool to prepare for the World Cup.
'With it being a home World Cup, we cannot ignore that. We are excited by that but the Six Nations is really important to us, we have got a nice little goal within that to evolve our game,' Mitchell told the BBC. 'We park that up [World Cup chat] and pay respect to work hard and evolve our game in this tournament so by the time we come round to World Cup preparation, we will probably be in a position where we can consolidate.'
In last year's tournament, they scored at least 40 points in every single game and conceded more than 10 points just once as they won on the road in Italy, Scotland and France and beat Wales and Ireland at home. England have not lost a home game in the Six Nations since 2015, winning 21 in a row on home soil.
Claudia MacDonald, who starts on the wing this afternoon for England, has spoken about the strength in depth of this squad and the competition for places.
'No one has been told they will play a certain amount of minutes or games. There is so much strength in depth and so much choice [for Mitchell],' MacDonald said.
'We know it is one of our biggest strengths as a squad - you could have two separate teams of 15. It is just a case of bringing everyone along for the journey. There is a World Cup at the end of the year but right now it is the Six Nations. Yes we are competitive individuals but we are Red Roses first. We have a great culture.
'The Rugby World Cup this year is all about growing the desire for young girls to play rugby. We want as many people to be watching and engaging as possible. If we travel around the country then we are picking up new pockets of people.'
Italy have a new head coach for this year's Six Nations with Fabio Roselli replacing Giovanni Raineri. They have won just two of their last 19 matches in the Six Nations, losing eight, with both wins coming against Ireland.
When these sides met in the Six Nations last year, England won convincingly 48-0 over in Italy despite a first-half red card for Sarah Beckett. England have won all 17 of their previous Six Nations matches against Italy and their last seven victories have come by margins of 35 points or more. Already this weekend, France have won away in Ireland whilst Scotland narrowly got past Wales at home yesterday.