The Breakdown | Mitchell’s Six Nations conundrum: who will be Red Roses’ next Abby Dow?

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How do you solve a problem like replacing Abby Dow? Yes, it is a different take on the Sound of Music song but it is a fiendish question to answer. The Red Roses winger retired after the Rugby World Cup, leaving a try-scoring hole in the world champions’ squad, whose next task is to try to win their eighth straight Women’s Six Nations title. And so while Julie Andrews’ character realised she was not a problem after all, the England head coach, John Mitchell, is left with a selection headache before his team start their campaign against Ireland on Saturday.

Dow scored 50 tries in 59 caps, with her lightning pace a key characteristic to her game. She retired to pursue a career in engineering and her boots are large ones to fill. The issue, though, is not that there are no contenders to take on the jersey, it is more of who the Red Roses will select.

Mitchell said: “Abby was world class. She was an outstanding rugby player and now she has made a really good career choice. Now we’ve got Claudia [Moloney-MacDonald], we’ve got Jess [Breach] who is also fantastic in the air. Then you have got the raw pace of Millie David, you’ve got the gas and swerve of Bo Westcombe-Evans and you’ve got Mia Venner, who is extremely good in her evasion and small-space rugby. They all bring different strengths in many ways. So it is up to me to get that balance right in the back three.”

As Mitchell lists, there are many options at his disposal. Breach has been a starting winger under Mitchell since he took the helm in 2023 and so is likely to retain her shirt. On the opposite wing, Moloney-MacDonald is a strong favourite as she was a part of the World Cup-winning squad. She has 21 tries in 36 caps and is renowned for her pace but is also physical in tackles and at the breakdown.

One of the seven uncapped players in the 38-player Six Nations squad is David, whose nickname Millie Whizz should tell supporters all they need to know about how fast she is. The Bristol Bears player, who is also qualified to play for Australia, won breakthrough player of the season in Premiership Women’s Rugby’s last campaign, finishing as the league’s top try-scorer. This season, although Bristol are eighth, David is still crossing the whitewash regularly, with nine tries making her the fifth-top try-scorer so far this season.

Two of the other wingers above David in the league scoring charts are also available to Mitchell, the first being Venner. The Gloucester-Hartpury wing, who has two international caps, is the second-highest try-scorer with 11 to her name, which has helped steer her club to the top of the table. Venner has been on Mitchell’s radar for some time and just missed out on the World Cup squad last year.

Millie David has been in try-scoring form for Bristol Bears and could come into the XV.

Loughborough Lightning’s Westcombe-Evans, who missed a lot of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, is fourth in the PWR charts with 10 tries and will be looking to add to her two England caps this campaign. The 23-year-old, who returned to the pitch in September, had made an impressive start to her Red Roses career with a try on her debut in September 2024 but then her World Cup hopes were dashed by the long-term knee injury.

One option Mitchell did not list but could turn to is moving the star full-back Ellie Kildunne to the wing, with either Emma Sing or Helena Rowland capable of starting at 15. England have an embarrassment of riches and any of the choices to replace Dow are capable of reaching the try-scoring heights their predecessor recorded. Having such depth is good but it is crucial Mitchell selects the right player to ensure the tries continue.

The absence of Dow is not the only squad change since the World Cup win. There was another high-profile retirement in Emily Scarratt but the 119-capped centre’s leadership and expertise have not been lost as she is now part of the coaching staff as lead attack and backs coach.

There are then three experienced players who will not be able to be called on because of pregnancy. Zoe Stratford – the captain, Abbie Ward and Lark Atkin-Davies have all announced they are expecting and the team will be down a combined 224 caps. The centre Tatyana Heard has been ruled out through injury. However, such is the Red Roses’ experience that the Six Nations squad still has an average of 29 caps per player.

As well as some changes to the squad, a new captain has been appointed. With Stratford on the sidelines, Meg Jones has been promoted from vice-captain and will have Amy Cokayne and Alex Matthews as her deputies across the tournament. Jones, who was nominated for World Rugby’s player of the year award in 2025, said there is continuity for the team in the decision.

“I am immensely proud to be taking the armband,” she said. “I have worked with Zoe and all of the leadership girls before anyway so nothing really changes, it’s just a different face I guess. We have a huge group of leaders and a group that lead themselves extremely well. It’s about making sure everyone is on the same vision and we are going towards the same goal.”

So there are new faces, a new captain and a winger’s boots to fill. However, despite all of the chopping and changing England are still favourites to make the pitches come alive with the sound of the Red Roses winning matches.