RWC2025 | Head coach John Mitchell, captain Zoe Aldcroft and Holly Aitchison speak after England announced their matchday 23

Head coach John Mitchell, captain Zoe Aldcroft and Holly Aitchison (pictured) speak after England announced their matchday 23 to face Scotland in the quarter-finals at Ashton Gate Stadium on Sunday.

John Mitchell, head coach

On what he thought of the Scotland v Canada match:
"I think everyone has raised their performance. Clearly people will say that Scotland have raised their performance against us but there’s still vulnerability in the Scottish team. There’s still opportunities to build pressure, so we’ll be hunting those weaknesses."

On whether they are prepared for the weather on Sunday:
"We believe that we can adapt to all weather conditions. We’ve got particular players up our sleeve that allow us to be able to dictate opportunities at the other end of the field through the weather."

On how close his team has been to achieving 10/10 performance this tournament:
"I don’t think we need to be scoring 10 out of 10 at the moment. We’ve just come from one competition and we’re into a new competition in my eyes and now we’ve got to earn another week. So scoring 10 out of 10 is probably not as relevant as getting the right performance ultimately at the end of the day. We’ve also been experiencing some adversity through injuries and bits and pieces, that’s what this tournament will throw at you, so you’ve just got to keep it focused and make sure that you just keep doing the best you can at the end of each day."

On Zoe Aldcroft’s recovery process in camp:
"She doesn’t like to talk on the Wattbike, when I tried talking to her one morning."

Zoe Aldcroft, captain

On how watching the tournament has been as opposed to playing:
"I would have rather been involved but now I’m ready to attack these next few weeks definitely. But I have full trust in the girls that they are doing the job that they’ve prepared to do. Sitting on the sidelines is a completely different perspective and view of it all. You understand the game a little bit more when you’re watching from the sideline and see the intricate bits that we speak about. So it’s been interesting from that side but I’ve been doing a lot of rehab and Wattbikes over the last few weeks, now I’m back and ready to go."

On what particular moment of the World Cup has stood out to her so far:
"That opening game was absolutely incredible. To get that record number in that first game was amazing. I think the stadium itself allowed the audience to be so loud and we could hear every single one of the fans. The momentum has kind of built as we’ve travelled down the country to Northampton, Brighton and now across to Bristol, it’s just super exciting to get out in front a new different crowd and keep that momentum going."

On how difficult it is to be captain from the sidelines:
"It’s been important that I’m still present whether that’s been in training, in meetings and things. So I’ve tried to be there as much as I can, but we have a very strong leadership group and obviously all the girls lead on the pitch which is also very important too."

On who she has passed the drum onto from two weeks ago:"
I think to be fair Abi Burton was very good on the drums last week so maybe her."

Holly Aitchison

On starting her first match of the tournament:
"I obviously had a bit of an ankle injury, which I’ve gotten through thanks to the medical team, so yeah I’m super excited. Just ready to get going now."

On mindset approaching the game now it’s knockout rugby:
"We’re just always working to be better and the processing is the same, but it’s just the small things each week that change, so we focus ourselves on that, making small changes that allow us to be the best we can be."

When asked how excited she is to play on Sunday:
"I think everyone is excited, it’s a World Cup, it’s hard not to be for every game. We’re excited for the challenge to improve. We had a massive defensive display last week."

On if she’s had any funny messages from her ex-Bristol teammates who also play for Scotland:
"Unfortunately, I have been exiled from the group-chat because I am moving, so we haven’t had much interaction. I’m sure after the game everyone will kind of pull in and it’ll be lush to catch up with everyone, but not before the game."

On exploring Bristol:
"We’ve got a long list of places to visit to be fair, like loads of places in Bristol. I’m like more of a foodie and stuff so I got to lots of cafes, brunches and stuff like that. But everything is unreal here to be fair."