Now comes the startling news we should have expected: for 2024-25 the PWR season will be cut back to allow the World Cup the breathing space it deserves.
Last year, the new PWR league was delayed to make way for the first edition of WXV. It meant that the final still lies in front of us, this weekend.
The schedule will last from 5 October to 16 March 2025. That means it starts a month earlier than last season, but finishes far earlier.
Something had to give, so one of my dearest wishes, to see a more equal balance between clubs, is partially achieved. For the first two rounds those who have the most Red Roses on call in Canada in September-October will be shorn of more first-choice picks than the rest.
These plans also answer one important question: would the PWR board seek to reintroduce a tenth club as soon as possible? There had been absolutely no indication their minds were turning in that direction, but the burden of coming events makes it impossible anyway.
All the same, an odd number of competitors makes for a very untidy season. Every week one club will stand down, leaving only four matches for spectators to enjoy up and down the land.
Transfers and Signings
It’s still early days in the business of clubs trawling for new players. A considerable number have announced their retirement, so there are immediate gaps to fill.
Thus far there has been only a handful of noteworthy signings. Most prominent was Loughborough Lightning’s acquisition of Alev Kelter, the powerful USA Eagles centre. She has been busy with Sevens, but had already appeared in the Premier 15s. Saracens signed her for the 2021-22 season. Lightning have also brought in Alicia Maude, a specialist in Sevens in recent years.
In the coming weeks we should see a multitude of transfers to freshen up the look of the league. Let’s hope it isn’t just the top four (Bristol, Exeter, Gloucester-Hartpury and Sarries) who mop up the most prized players.
Pressure, what pressure?
The pressure on contracted Red Roses will be significant. For the squad chosen to travel to Canada it will means three demanding tests there, a return to the PWR, a 5-match Six Nations blast before a break to rest body and soul for a home World Cup.
But then comes a curiosity: the gap between round five of the 6N (15 March) and the start of RWC (22 August) amounts to five months. How is it to be filled? The PWR will be a distant memory, and arranging sensible friendly matches against worthy opposition isn’t easy. The Red Roses are playing France and New Zealand before the coming WXV series. A repeat next year seems unlikely, so a think tank has to decide who else comes into consideration.
The Selection policy, again
One criticism I had of John Mitchell’s selections for his first 6N series was his unwillingness to spread the load. He consistently assembled a squad of around 35-36, then omitted the same (fringe) players from the match-day 23s.
That policy must surely change now. Let’s say he was dipping his feet cautiously in the water, unwilling to take chances on an unacceptable loss in his baptismal season. But if he maintains the same policy across WXV and the 6N, that would not be the best use of resources.
The one clear-cut advantage England have over all other nations is the sheer number of players who can perform with distinction at test level.
Two squad members left high and dry by his previous selections, Lizzie Hanlon and Vicky Laflin, would now be facing their debuts, rather than adding to a small stock of caps already gained. And if players such as Cath O’Donnell and Emma Sing were given a game, some of the loud criticism might be stilled. If they still aren’t thought worthy of inclusion, why were they repeatedly included in training squads?
Now we wait to see how the other fifteen nations will prepare for the big occasion in England in fifteen months’ time.
