The road for the Red Roses has not always been paved with gold. The world number one team has faced some serious challenges in their sprint to the top, from injuries and illness to sexism and the gender gap. But in 2025, women’s sports can be summed up in one word: inspirational.
That’s certainly true for these three England players – pictured above from left, Zoe Aldcroft, Abi Burton and Sadia Kabeya – who have fought for their spot on the pitch. After cutting their teeth in grassroots clubs, these women have pushed the Red Roses to be the best women’s rugby team in the world, using passion to overcome pain and bring home the trophy.
1. Zoe Aldcroft, forward and Red Roses captain
The first Scarborough player to compete in an international team, Red Roses captain Zoe Aldcroft is fiercely proud of her Yorkshire roots
England women’s national rugby union team / Adobe Stock
In the past, it was common for people to assume rugby is just for the boys, but that didn’t put off eight-year-old Zoe, who was the only girl on her team at Scarborough RUFC. Having watched her dad and brothers play the sport, Zoe wanted to prove she could tackle just as well as the boys. Initially described by her coaches as shy and quiet, Zoe didn’t hold back on the pitch.
Injury puts pause on Zoe’s play
Knowing that rugby was her future, Zoe made the bold decision to move from the North East to the South West to Hartpury College for a full-time rugby programme – she was just 16 years old. She battled homesickness, focusing on the dream of playing for England.
She faced another setback in 2019, when she missed the entire Women’s Six Nations Championship season due to an ankle injury. In fact, the forward has broken her ankle multiple times, having to sit back as her teammates forged ahead to victories. But with rehab, and patience, Zoe has since appeared in winning Women’s Six Nations, Premiership Women’s Rugby and World Cup teams, being named World Rugby women’s player of the year in 2021.
A new captain for the Red Roses
Now, at 28 years old, Zoe has been named the new captain of the Red Roses and acts as the role model she never had. The first Scarborough player to compete in an international team, she coaches and mentors young players in her hometown, never forgetting her roots.
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Growing up in Leeds, 25-year-old Abi Burton has rugby in her blood – her father is former Rugby League player Danny Burton. She started her career playing Rugby Union at Castleford RFC in West Yorkshire, before moving to Hartpury College at 16 and making her Premiership debut for Gloucester-Hartpury aged 17. In 2020, Abi played as part of the GB Sevens team in the Tokyo Olympics, finishing fourth place. Abi has since spoken about how she felt lost after missing out on a medal, but it was two years later that Abi faced her biggest challenge.
Learning to walk and talk again
In 2022, Abi faced serious medical setbacks, including spending 25 days in a medically-induced coma and contracting pneumonia – twice. Abi missed almost a year of rugby, including the Commonwealth Games, losing a significant amount of muscle and having to learn how to walk and talk again.
Rehab and resilience got Abi back on the pitch
The doctors initially misdiagnosed her lethargy and low mood as stress-induced psychosis, but finally Abi received a new diagnosis: autoimmune encephalitis. The condition causes the body’s immune system to mistakenly attack the brain. Her family made the difficult decision to induce a coma so that Abi could receive the treatment she needed. After a tough period, Abi threw herself into rehab and built her strength back up. Since then, she was awarded the Blyth Spirit Award by the Rugby Players Association, competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics and, after an impressive performance in Premiership Women’s Rugby, was called up to the England team.
3. Sadia Kabeya, back row
A high-profile Black woman in rugby, Sadia Kabeya, right, embraces her natural hair to inspire others
England women’s national rugby union team / Adobe Stock
Injuries and medical issues can stop a rugby player’s career in its tracks, but some issues are more persistent and deep–rooted. For 23-year-old Sadia Kabeya, her career started at a club where she was surrounded by people who looked like her. Born in Lewisham and schooled in Croydon, it wasn’t until she stepped into professional rugby that she started to notice the lack of cultural and ethnic diversity.
The toll of not fitting in
Moving to Richmond, Sadia found herself code-switching to better fit in, changing the slang she used and even the type of music she listened to. The experience took a toll on her, until the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 forced her to think about the ways she’d changed herself. Sadia has spoken candidly about how the lack of Black and global majority role models can be off-putting for girls getting into grassroots rugby.
With people like Sadia fighting for change, rugby is slowly becoming a more inclusive place. She is particularly passionate about Black rugby players’ hair, after receiving offensive comments. She now calls for satin-lined scrum caps for players with textured hair, so there’s no need to worry about how their hair looks in victory pictures and post-game coverage.
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