ZOEALDCROFT

GLOUCESTER-HARTPURY LOCK

Birthplace: Scarborough

Date of birth: 19/11/96

Community club: Scarborough RFC

Red Roses Debut: vs France July 2016

Caps: 48

Why I Play Rugby: To make my family proud and the energy it brings

ZOE Aldcroft has endured a frustrating, injury-hit 2023/24 but has returned just in time to start England’s Six Nations opener with Italy today aiming to help the Red Roses turn from a ‘great team’ into a ‘phenomenal outfit’.

The 27-year-old lock has battled back from a medial collateral ligament rupture to reignite her formidable partnership in the second row with Abbie Ward.

Having starred for England in their unbeaten WXV1 triumph in New Zealand, Aldcroft is excited to be involved in new head coach John Mitchell’s first tournament in full control of the Red Roses having played a background role last autumn due to his involvement with Japan at the Rugby World Cup.

Aldcroft told The Rugby Paper: “We’ve had our first tournament under John Mitchell (WXV) but to now have him in person as our full-time head coach is really exciting, putting the pieces together in a tournament that’s hopefully the start of our cycle into the World Cup in 2025.

“His level of knowledge is outstanding and he’s really brought that into us, so we can put it into our game. When he came in he thought we were a great team but we’re now trying to make ourselves into a phenomenal side. So, those little extra bits that he brings will take us to the next level.”

England have beaten Italy 68-5, 74-0 and 67-3 in their last three meetings but with numerous Italian internationals playing in the Women’s Premiership, including star centre Beatrice Rigoni, Aldcroft is not underestimating their opponents in Parma.

She said: “They are a very big running team with threats all over the park, as well as lots of jackal threats. So, we need to make sure our defence is well connected and hopefully we can stop them from implementing their game.”

The Red Roses created their own social media account in the past week, having previously shared a platform with the men on ‘England Rugby’. The new account has accumulated over 17,000 followers across Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), and Aldcroft believes it’s important her side have their own platform to increase awareness and visibility.

She added: “It’s massively important to have our own accounts which are massive in building our profile by being able to post whenever we want. We can post little things about what we’re like personally on our own platform rather than sharing it with the England Rugby account. People can then buy into us as a culture and relate to each of the players.”

Aldcroft appeared in Gloucester-Hartpury’s first Premiership game of the season against Leicester Tigers but the MCL injury she sustained has ruled her out of action since.

Despite the talismanic forward’s absence, the reigning champions have been the league’s pacesetters once more, unbeaten in the league and gunning for back-to-back titles.

“I’m delighted for the girls, they’ve been unreal,” said Aldcroft. “We’ve had a lot of injuries but the girls that have stepped up from BUCS have come in and torn it apart which is been unbelievable to see. It’s really important for us to go back-to-back as at the start of the season we set out for that to be our goal and we wanted to attack this season from the off. “It’s been a frustrating time on the sidelines but thankfully the girls have been able to get the job done. I’m really excited to get back out there.”