England Euro 2025 champions: Red Roses take inspiration from Lionesses for home World Cup challenge

England Women’s rugby team have taken extra motivation and inspiration from the Lionesses’ European Championship success as they put their final touches towards preparations for the home World Cup.

The Red Roses head into the tournament in August with an extra spring in their step as they look to continue what has already been an incredible summer for women's sport.

England are overwhelming favourites to scoop a first world title since 2014 and are brimming with confidence on the back of 25 successive victories and having claimed their seventh straight Six Nations title back in April.

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Their last defeat came in the 2022 World Cup final, when they narrowly lost 34-31 despite battling with 14 players following an 18th-minute red card to Lydia Thompson.

The pressure of being odds-on favourite is one similar to that experienced by the Lionesses going into their home Euro tournament in 2022, and one Sarina Wiegman's side rose to the occasion by winning the first of their back-to-back European trophies.

Now the Red Roses want to continue the feel-good factor this summer by delivering on those expectations and lifting the World Cup in front of what is expected to be a sold-out Allianz Stadium come Saturday September 27.

"What the Lionesses have been doing is incredible," Red Roses captain Zoe Aldcroft told a packed press conference at Twickenham Stadium, believed to be the largest media gathering ahead of a tournament for both England men and women.

"We were watching them together against Italy [in the semi-finals] and we were right behind them. It's incredible that you see the country getting behind them and that is something we want to build and achieve that momentum."

England centre, Meg Jones added: "People speak about the Lionesses inspiring a nation of young girls, well we're full-grown women and we feel inspired every time we watch them."

For England head coach John Mitchell, he sees comparisons between the Lionesses and the Red Roses. He said: "In two tournaments, the Lionesses have shown strong values and qualities. I think many of those exist in our group too.

"In tournaments, you have to earn the right the hard way, and they're doing that. The key part of that glue [for the Lionesses] is the strength of their connections. There's a lot to learn from that."

Just as the Lionesses did in 2022, when they took their group matches around the country, the Red Roses will have their own roadshow around England. They start off with a warm-up clash against Spain this Saturday at Leicester's Mattioli Woods Welford Road before their pool matches against USA, Samoa and Australia take them to Sunderland, Northampton and Brighton.

"We start the campaign in Sunderland and make our way down the whole country, so we give access to the whole of England, not just the south, which is super important," Aldcroft added.

It will be in stark contrast to Aldcroft's England international debut back in the United States five years ago, where she said there were no stands and people just stood by the pitch before adding: "I think there must have been about 30 people, if that!"

Fast forward, and nearly 60,000 turned out for England's first standalone women's Test at Twickenham Stadium for the Red Roses' Six Nations finale against France in May 2023.

"That was a moment where it felt like a real change in women's rugby," Aldcroft said.

"Hopefully, going into this tournament, we'll be able to create that momentum and get a packed-out stadium at Twickenham [for the final]. That would be unbelievable and I think that the same feelings would apply again to that change in women's rugby and the growth that is to come."

Being excited about what is around the corner is fuelling Ellie Kildunne as she counts down to the start of the World Cup.

While much talk has been made of Chloe Kelly's iconic goal celebrations for the Lionesses, be sure to expect plenty of "cowboy" celebrations with every try scored by the full-back, as well as plenty of cowboy-hat-wearing spectators in the stands in tribute to one of the fans' favourites.

"I feel like [women's rugby] has been big for the past three years," said Kildunne, who ramped up excitement at the recent media event by cheering the players when they were announced on the panel.

"Since the last World Cup, it's been almost everything that people have been talking about. It's not that I'm bored of people talking about it, but I actually want to play alongside to show them everything that's been spoken of.

"We don't know what to expect, we're just focusing on ourselves and how we're playing. But I think the journey we're going to be on over the next few months and seeing the rise of the crowds coming in, how much social media starts talking about women's rugby for the first time and that's something we're really excited about.

"It's not something that we're really focused on, but we're prepared for what's to come without knowing what that is."

Burton starts for Red Roses vs Spain

Abi Burton will make her first Test start for the Red Roses against Spain on Saturday.

The Trailfinders Women forward debuted for England in the Six Nations - scoring twice from the bench - before appearing as a replacement in the Grand Slam decider against France.

She will line-up at blindside flanker in a back row which contains Marlie Packer as captain and Maddie Feaunati at Number 8.

Abbie Ward and Tatyana Heard came in for Rosie Galligan and Holly Aitchison changes to the team that was initially announced on Thursday morning.

England: Sing; Rowland, Jones, Shekells, Breach; Harrison, L Packer; Clifford, Atkin-Davies, Bern, Ward, Campion, Burton, M Packer (capt) Feaunati.

Replacements: Campbell, Botterman, Muir, Aldcroft, Kabeya, Hunt, Heard, Dow

England face Spain in a warm-up this Saturday as they build to the World Cup which starts on Friday August 22.