12 December 2024 – The RFU has announced its list of contracted players for 2024-25.
They number 32, with eight more being offered the now familiar transitional contracts:
Holly Aitchison
Zoe Aldcroft
Lark Atkin-Davies
Sarah Beckett
Sarah Bern
Hannah Botterman
Jess Breach
Mackenzie Carson
Kelsey Clifford
Amy Cokayne
Liz Crake*
Abby Dow
Maddie Feaunati*
Rosie Galligan
Zoe Harrison
Tatyana Heard
Natasha Hunt
Megan Jones
Sadia Kabeya
Ellie Kildunne
Alex Matthews
Claudia MacDonald
Maud Muir
Cath O’Donnell
Lucy Packer
Marlie Packer
Connie Powell
Helena Rowland
Emily Scarratt
Morwenna Talling
Abbie Ward
Ella Wyrwas
Transition Contracted Players
Maisy Allen
Katie Buchanan
Grace Clifford
Steph Else*
Lizzie Hanlon*
Lilli Ives Campion
Nancy McGillivray
Mia Venner*
(8)
* new contracts
While there are few surprises, the addition of two new names is very welcome. They are Liz Crake, the Trailfinders’ prop, and Maddie Feaunati, the Exeter Chiefs’ back-rower.
It’s far too soon for me to restart my “Rosewatch”, indicating who is actually fit to play in any coming test match, but sadly we can already see a number of listed players who are currently out of action. They include Cath O’Donnell, Claudia MacDonald, Helena Rowland and Jess Breach, The one comforting thought is that it’s better to be out of action when the big games are far distant.
The allocation of clubs tells its own story. They work out alphabetically like this:
Bristol 5
Exeter 2
Gloucester-Hartpury 7
Harlequins 3
Leicester Tigers 2
Loughborough Lightning 4
Sale 1
Saracens 6
Trailfinders 2
or, in numerical order:
Gloucester-Hartpury 7
Saracens 6
Bristol 5
Loughborough 4
Harlequins 3
Exeter 2
Leicester 2
Trailfinders 2
Sale 1
This second list is uncannily like the current league table. One club well out of position is Chiefs, as they attempt to lift more home-grown players into the starting XV.
The more professional the league becomes, the more distorted the list is bound to become. It’s the same right across western Europe: in the French Elite 1, the Irish AIL, the Italian Serie A, and so on. In each, one or two clubs dominate the scene.
Just for fun, you could pick out your favourite starting XV. Then, far more difficult, the side John Mitchell will choose for the opening joust of the Six Nations.
All good things come in threes, so: who will be missing from the list once the World Cup is over?
