The Red Roses make the trip across the Irish Sea this week, as they take on Ireland in the third round of the 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations. England have their sights set on a seventh consecutive title, and have kicked off their campaign with back-to-back bonus point wins over Italy and Wales.
Ireland could well prove to be the toughest test thus far, with Scott Bemand’s side becoming a vastly improved team within the past 12 months. Ahead of the match, England attack coach Lou Meadows and hooker Lark Atkin-Davies spoke about their ambitions for the upcoming away day to Cork’s Musgrave Park. Covering everything from a milestone match for Abby Dow and all the injury news, here are the five biggest talking points ahead of the Red Roses v Ireland, in the third round of the Women’s Six Nations.
5 TALKING POINTS: ENGLAND TEAM TO FACE IRELAND 2025 WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
15. Ellie Kildunne 14. Abby Dow 13. Megan Jones 12. Tatyana Heard 11. Jess Breach 10. Zoe Harrison 9. Natasha Hunt 1. Hannah Botterman 2. Lark Atkin-Davies 3. Maud Muir 4. Morwenna Talling 5. Abbie Ward 6. Zoe Aldcroft 7. Sadia Kabeya 8. Alex Matthews
16. Amy Cokayne. 17 Kelsey Clifford 18. Sarah Bern 19. Rosie Galligan 20. Maddie Feaunati 21. Lucy Packer 22. Holly Aitchison 23 Helena Rowland
1. Mackenzie Carson Injury – Prop ruled out for rest of 2025 Women’s Six Nations
Red Roses prop Mackenzie Carson sustained a nasty ankle injury in England’s second round clash, with the Saracen withdrawn from the Principality Stadium mid-way through the match against Wales. Carson has been ruled out for the rest of the 2025 Women’s Six Nations, however, the England coaches are hopeful to see the 26-year-old back in camp ahead of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
LOU MEADOWS: “She’s got over the initial ‘it’s an injury’, do you know what I mean? Now we’re just looking at what that means for her and where she’s going to be best to get back on the right path to joining us as soon as possible.”
2. Abby Dow’s 50th cap – Trailfinders move was a break-out moment for England wing
England wing Abby Dow is set to make a milestone appearance this Saturday, as she earns her 50th cap in the away trip to Cork. Meadows expressed her delight at Dow’s accolade, and drew attention to how the flyer’s move from Harlequins to Trailfinders in 2023 was a piviotal moment in her progression. Dow left her comfort zone of a back-three with England teammate Ellie Kildunne, for a brand new adventure with the newly formed Trailfinders Women.
LOU MEADOWS: “She’s a phenomenal athlete but she’s also extremely smart. She is very good at identifying opportunities and bringing new ideas to the table. The way she thinks about tasks and the way she focuses, she wants to see things through. She’s very committed, a very driven individual.
“But she’s also extremely caring. I think sometimes people don’t always see that side of her, but if you see how she operates on the pitch, although she’s an extremely talented individual, she’s actually team first, and she works so hard on and off the pitch for everybody and tries to offer as much support as possible.”
“It’s a really good point (the move to Trailfinders) because I think actually that’s where the growth of Abby has come to a new level, because she’s had to be a leader. So, she’s had to really work on her communication skills, her social skills as well in terms of like how she connects with people and better understands them across the team.
“So, not just kind of gravitating towards that back-three connection, she’s got to work across the back-line and then into the forwards. You can see that, the way she now communicates on pitch with us and off it as well, just how she seeks out people to have conversations with based on something she’s seen in the game. She’s always had a really good game understanding, she watches a lot of rugby and she’s actually quite critical of it, but actually her ability to then translate that with someone else is that next level for her.
“So, to get someone else to see what she’s seeing in the way she sees it, so they can actually do it together. That’s probably the biggest part of the connection. So ultimately, spending more time at club with someone is brilliant, because time together strengthens the connection, but actually your ability to communicate and pick up those relationships and connections quicker is the next level, and that is where she’s grown.”
3. Contention for places as Hannah Botterman, Alex Matthews and Maud Muir all return
There are a few changes to the Red Roses starting XV from the side that took on Wales, with Alex Matthews completing her return from injury to hold down the eight jersey once again. Bristol Bears prop Hannah Botterman also returns to the starting team, and Lark Atkin-Davies is excited for an on-field reunion with her PWR club-mate, and to line-up with Gloucester-Hartpury star Maud Muir.
LOU MEADOWS: Alex (Matthews) is extremely focused on her craft and her trade. She always wants to get better. She’s someone who technically can give so much in terms of physical space and she’s always looking at how she could grow her skill set to be even better on the pitch. Whether that’s in the middle of it or on the edges.
“I think that’s where her craft is going to grow and her ability to use her physicality but then another layer of skill on top of that. So that again, defences don’t know what she’s going to do, both sides of the ball she knows how to create an impact.”
“I think she’s aware obviously of how well Maddie’s going but I think Alex is never one to be too proud and say that she’s a very good player, but she doesn’t own the shirt. And she knows that she’s always going to have to fight for it. and that’s where she’s so great at working on herself all the time. She doesn’t rest.
“She’s an extremely focused individual. She wants to be better all the time and most importantly she wants to grow that shirt to where it could be. Competition to do that is great for anyone but she is always aware of who is around her, how she can support them as well. and it’s all about the shirt and the red roses not just about herself.”
LARK ATKIN-DAVIES: Obviously I play a lot with Botts (Hannah Botterman) at club so I know and have built a really good relationship with her in terms of playing. But with Maud (Muir) on the other side of me, just making sure that I’m doing my role as best as I can to make sure that we’re being as dominant as we can. Like I said about the depth that we have in our squad, the beauty of it is that look at both of those front rows and also the people that we have in the positions that aren’t them playing.
4. 11 tries v Wales – Red Roses attack coach Lou Meadows delighted with dominance in Cardiff
England hammered Wales in their recent trip to Cardiff, with the Red Roses racking up a substantial 67-12 win at the Principality Stadium. As the resident attack coach, Meadows was delighted to see her side hit 11 tries against their neighbours, yet has kept her foot on the gas for an even stronger performance this weekend against an tougher opponent in Ireland. However, the end goal remains the same, in winning the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup Final.
LOU MEADOWS: “Absolutely. It’s always better when we’re going forward and over that try line. In the style that we did as well there was a huge variety of those tries which is great to see as well. As an attack coach I obviously want them to play what’s in front of them and they definitely did that.
“You can go into these games with a lot of game plans and plan A, plan B, plan C but ultimately if that changes in front of you and you can’t adapt you’ll never get over that try line. That’s what I was actually really proud of. It was the decision making then backed up by the execution.”
“It’s actually making sure it’s the right decision to do that and they’ve got the skill set to execute to the level we need them to be. That’s where I want to get to with this team. Ultimately defensive teams, and the defensive coaches of those teams don’t know how to stop us. They’re literally sat there going, ‘I do not know what’s coming’.
“That’s what would make us the best team in the world and should win a World Cup final. Ultimately we’re using the Six Nations to grow not only as a team in terms of our tactical and our own game but also the individual skill sets of the players and then the combinations to get that.”
5. Could be a ‘Corker’ – Hopes for a sell out crowd in Ireland against a solid Test for the Red Roses
Whilst it is enjoyable to be a fan of the Red Roses as defeats rarely follow the team, England are expecting a solid Test this Saturday against a well-improved Ireland side. Last Autumn, the Emerald Islanders beat New Zealand at WXV1 in Canada, in what was an immense statement of intent after finishing third in the 2024 Women’s Six Nations.
LARK ATKIN-DAVIES: I think each week we face different tests. Looking back at Wales, those first 10 minutes put a lot of pressure on us. It was our adaptability and how we chose to play the game. I think we should be really proud of the way we reacted to that. Going over to Ireland is always going to be a test for us in terms of a sell-out crowd, which is great for the game.
“But also the way they’ve been improving their game. We want tests to be really tough. Ireland are now showing, look to WXV where they beat New Zealand. I think we’re going to have a great game on our hands and it’s exciting to be involved in.”
LOU MEADOWS: “I hope they sell out because we want big crowds. The girls are used to playing in front of them and it ultimately puts that next layer onto the game that we’re all after in the build up to World Cup. Because we want to sell out crowds. So we’re really excited for that.
“I definitely have noticed the improvement in Ireland. I think they are better, but equally every game presents an opportunity for us to show where we’re at and for us to get better equally. So I think it’s going to be a great opportunity to identify for us as coaches how our own games evolved, how the players are getting after it.”
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The post “Abby Dow’s 50th Cap” – Women’s Six Nations: England’s Lou Meadows & Lark Atkin-Davies preview Ireland Test appeared first on Ruck.
