Scarratt closing in on record fifth World Cup
In the men's game only three players; Samoa's Brian Lima and Italy duo Mauro Bergamasco and Sergio Parisse have played at five World Cups.In the women's game, former New Zealand fly-half Anna Richards was part of five World Cups between 1991 and 2010, winning the title four times.Fiao'o Fa'amausili also won four World Cups for the Black Ferns across her five tournaments, from 2002-2017. Scotland's Donna Kennedy also played at five World Cups - her first coming in 1994.Hosts England are favourites to win the World Cup, which gets under way on 22 August.They defeated France 43-42 in a thriller at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in April to secure their fourth consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam.Megan Jones has established herself as John Mitchell's starting outside centre, but Scarratt - despite missing out on England's matchday squad for the Grand Slam win over France - remains a valuable squad member in a position where competition for places is high.The Red Roses are on a 25-game winning run as they count down to their home World Cup, which starts against the United States at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.The squad assembled on Monday for the first time and will be cut down to 32 players for the tournament.England, who were world champions in 2014, narrowly missed out in dramatic fashion at Eden Park in 2022 against New Zealand."We know how important and exciting 2025 is for women's rugby in England," Mitchell said. "Today is the start of little wins where we will work hard into the tournament."
England Rugby World Cup training squad
Forwards: Zoe Aldcroft, Lark Atkin-Davies, Sarah Bern, Hannah Botterman, Georgia Brock, Abi Burton, May Campbell, Mackenzie Carson, Kelsey Clifford, Amy Cokayne, Maddie Feaunati, Rosie Galligan, Lizzie Hanlon, Lilli Ives Campion, Sadia Kabeya, Alex Matthews, Maud Muir, Cath O'Donnell, Marlie Packer, Simi Pam, Connie Powell, Morwenna Talling, Abbie Ward.Backs: Holly Aitchison, Jess Breach, Millie David, Abby Dow, Zoe Harrison, Tatyana Heard, Natasha Hunt, Megan Jones, Ellie Kildunne, Claudia MacDonald, Lucy Packer, Sarah Parry, Flo Robinson, Helena Rowland, Emily Scarratt, Jade Shekells, Emma Sing, Mia Venner, Ella Wyrwas.
Gloucester-Hartpury forward Sarah Beckett is once again a notable omission from the squad.The 26-year-old, who can play at lock or in the back row, failed to make the Red Roses' World Cup squad in 2022.Beckett was included in Mitchell's Women's Six Nations squad earlier this year but failed to make an appearance, with the last of her 35 caps coming in last year's Six Nations.Loughborough Lightning lock Cath O'Donnell is included and has returned to full training after missing the Six Nations and October's WXV1 campaigns with an ankle injury.Uncapped England Under-20 duo Millie David and Sarah Parry are named after featuring in Mitchell's March Six Nations training squad.Bristol Bears' David, 19, was this season's Premiership Women's Rugby joint top try-scorer with an impressive tally of 17.Prop Mackenzie Carson (ankle), world player of the year Ellie Kildunne (hamstring), Exeter Chiefs wing Claudia MacDonald (knee) and Bristol Bears lock Abbie Ward (toe) will all continue their injury rehab in camp.
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'It's the last shot for me. I actually think in the view of an increasing number of people it's the last shot for the country.' That Farage's health has become a source of discussion in Westminster is perhaps unsurprising. With Farage at the helm, Reform UK is a genuine threat to the established political order. Without him, his critics believe, his nascent party would collapse. He is, they say, a one-man band. Farage appears to be acutely aware that he is potentially a single point of failure. He is trying to promote those around him, particularly Zia Yusuf, who has emerged as one of the party's main spokesmen. His aim is to ensure that Reform UK is not synonymous with his personal brand but recognised in its own right. 'I'm very keen to promote others,' he said. 'I don't want the crime campaign just to be me. It's about the brand Reform itself, standing on its own two feet. We are getting there. People say to me in the street now, 'I think I'm a Reformer'.' 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Preparing for power The expected strapline for Reform's conference will be Next Steps as Farage seeks to embed in the minds of voters the idea that it is preparing for power. The party has sought to professionalise its operation, using an influx of money from new members to move to a bigger office in Millbank tower. The office comes equipped with a live studio space, which Farage can use to film ad hoc videos to respond to fast-moving events. The intention is to make Reform UK more agile and responsive. Reform saw Trump's visit to Scotland this week as proof of the tectonic shift in British politics. The highlight from Trump's extraordinary 70-minute press conference with a largely silent Starmer was when the president was asked what his advice to Farage and Starmer would be before the election. 'You know, politics is pretty simple,' Trump said. 'I assume there's a thing going on between you and Nigel, and it's OK. It's two parties. But generally speaking, the one who cuts taxes the most, the one who gives you the lowest energy prices, the best kind of energy, the one that keeps you out of wars … a few basics.' The headlines were, inevitably, about the fact that the president had offered Starmer unsolicited advice that he needed to cut taxes and stop the boats. But of arguably far greater significance was Trump's acceptance of the premise of the question: that the next election would be a battle between Starmer and Farage. Badenoch and the Tories were not even part of the conversation. The Tory leader did not have a meeting with Trump at his Turnberry golf course but is expected to meet him during his state visit. But the challenge for Badenoch is that Labour and Reform are both intent on squeezing the Tories out of the picture. Sticking to the script Labour is drawing up plans for its conference, and Reform is likely to feature heavily. Starmer will reprise his message on the need for growth at all costs — necessarily so, given the anaemic state of the economy and the scale of tax rises expected in the autumn budget. But Farage and Reform are likely to be a constant theme as Labour hones its attacks. Those attacks are still largely based on three fronts: accusing Farage of trying to sell out the NHS, being a Putin stooge and promulgating fantasy economics with unfunded pledges. Senior figures in government admit there is little evidence that the attacks are working, but argue that this is not the point. Labour believes that the messages it is embedding in the minds of voters now will come to the fore when the general election comes into view — when the prospect of Farage entering No 10 becomes a reality. But what if they don't? After all, Rishi Sunak repeatedly said that voters would change their minds about him and the Conservatives during the white heat of the election campaign. The election result was even worse for him than had been expected. The murmurings of discontent are growing louder. One senior Labour source said that 'you can't out-Reform Reform' by going tough on issues such as immigration — it doesn't wash with voters. The other fear is that giving Farage a platform and painting the idea that he could become prime minister risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy — that he might just do it.
