England Netball has announced the 21 athletes who have been selected for the Vitality Roses programme for the 2026-27 international season and revealed a revamped pathway structure designed to better prepare athletes at every stage of their development to one day meet the demands of senior international competition.
As the Vitality Roses programme enters its eleventh year, young break-out star Gracie Smith enters the full-time programme for the first time at just 17-years-old and defenders Alice Harvey and Jayda Pechová return to the programme after a year in the Future Roses programme. Meanwhile Ella Clark returns to the Vitality Roses for the first time since 2023 after a standout season for Loughborough Lightning in the Netball Super League (NSL) and Natalie Metcalf and Eleanor Cardwell both enter their eleventh consecutive year on the programme.
Of the 21 athletes selected, 17 are based in the UK playing in the NSL and the remaining four play domestic netball in the Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) league in Australia.
Vitality Roses programme:
| Athlete | Club | Position |
| Halimat Adio | London Pulse | Defender |
| Imogen Allison | Queensland Firebirds (Australia) | Defending centre court |
| Jaz Brown | NIC Leeds Rhinos | Defender |
| Eleanor Cardwell | AO Manchester Thunder | Shooter |
| Amy Carter | AO Manchester Thunder | Defending centre court |
| Ella Clark | Loughborough Lightning | Shooter |
| Funmi Fadoju | London Pulse | Defender |
| Sasha Glasgow | West Coast Fever (Australia) | Shooter |
| Alice Harvey | Loughborough Lightning | Defender |
| Helen Housby | New South Wales Swifts (Australia) | Shooter |
| Natalie Metcalf | AO Manchester Thunder | Attacking centre court |
| Berri Neil | Loughborough Lightning | Shooter |
| Tash Pavelin | Nottingham Forest Netball | Defender |
| Lois Pearson | AO Manchester Thunder | Shooter |
| Jayda Pechová | Nottingham Forest Netball | Defender |
| Izzi Phillips | London Mavericks | Defending centre court |
| Alicia Scholes | London Pulse | Attacking centre court |
| Jess Shaw | Loughborough Lightning | Attacking centre court |
| Gracie Smith | London Pulse | Defending centre court |
| Liv Tchine | London Pulse | Shooter |
| Fran Williams | West Coast Fever (Australia) | Defender |
The cohort announcement comes in an important year for the sport, with the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games set to take place in July, where the Vitality Roses, who won gold in 2018 but failed to reach the podium in 2022, will compete against the world’s top netball nations.
Vitality Roses Head Coach Anna Stembridge commented: “I’m delighted to share the group of athletes who will make up the full-time Vitality Roses programme for the year ahead. I firmly believe that among this group we have the talent, commitment and the technical and tactical diversity that will enable us to perform at the highest level in the Commonwealth Games this summer, whilst also building towards the Netball World Cup just a year later in 2027. This is an exciting group of athletes, who we are confident provide the right mix of continuity and exciting fresh talent, with both experienced campaigners returning and young stars who are transitioning up from Future Roses or entering the programme for the first time.
“We are lucky to have a number of seasoned tournament campaigners among the group, with Eleanor, Helen, Natalie and Imogen having all experienced the unique multi-sport Commonwealth Games environment. The knowledge and advice they will be able to share with the whole group, and particularly with younger athletes like Gracie and Izzi who are entering the Vitality Roses for the first time, will be invaluable as the group enters two pinnacle years in the international cycle.
“The Vitality Roses Performance team will work closely with these athletes and their clubs to support them through the end of their domestic seasons before turning our focus to making the most of the time we have together before the Commonwealth Games this summer. I feel privileged to work with such a talented and hard-working group of athletes and am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”
The Vitality Roses programme runs over 12 months and consists of UK-based training camps and competitive opportunities at home and overseas, as well as in-club support for players during their domestic seasons. Players have been selected following a rigorous process that sees all their domestic and international performances assessed by a team of England Netball assessors. Any players not selected in this squad for the full-time programme are still eligible for selection for competition.
Reflecting a wider commitment to adapt the England Netball Pathway to better prepare young athletes for sustained success on the senior international stage, England Netball has introduced the Roses A programme in place of the former Future Roses programme for the 2026-27 season and beyond. Designed to prepare selected athletes for immediate transition into senior international performance, Roses A will provide a targeted Individual Performance Plan (IPP) led approach that drives highly individualised development and accelerates senior readiness with the aim that Roses A athletes are prepared to meet the specific demands of senior international competition by the end of their time in the programme. At this stage, 11 athletes have been selected for this programme, aligned specifically to senior squad depth, and providing an exciting mix of athletes, all of whom who have enjoyed successful seasons in the NSL.
Roses A programme:
| Athlete | Club | Position |
| Celena Appleby-Prince | Loughborough Lightning | Defender |
| Sophie Egbaran | London Mavericks | Shooter |
| Darcie Everitt | London Pulse | Defender |
| Cassie Howard | NIC Leeds Rhinos | Defending centre court |
| Harriet Jones | NIC Leeds Rhinos | Shooter |
| Izzy Kaye | Birmingham Panthers | Defending centre court |
| Sophie Kelly | London Pulse | Shooter |
| Suzie Liverseidge | London Mavericks | Attacking centre court |
| Emma Rayner | AO Manchester Thunder | Attacking centre court |
| Anya Williams | Nottingham Forest Netball | Shooter |
| Yomi Wilson | NIC Leeds Rhinos | Defender |
Josie Pointon, Roses Pathway Head Coach, commented on the selection, saying: “We are incredibly excited to announce the athletes selected for the new Roses A programme. This programme represents an important step within the England pathway, creating a more intentional and supportive environment for athletes transitioning towards the Vitality Roses. This is an exciting group of athletes who bring a huge amount of talent, potential and ambition to the pathway. We firmly believe these athletes have the potential to represent England on the international stage in the future, and the Roses A programme will play an important role in supporting them on that transition journey towards senior international netball.
“This group represents an exciting future for the Roses pathway, and we look forward to seeing them embrace the opportunities ahead with ambition and pride.”
Alongside the new Roses A programme, further changes have been made to the Pathway with the introduction of NXT Roses, a re-imagined Roses Academy and the re-introduction of Regional Positional Days. NXT Roses has been introduced to accelerate athlete progression with a focus on the 19-23 age group (aligned to NXT Gen eligibility). It will provide targeted, high-intensity, high-impact competition opportunities, designed to bridge the gap between domestic performance and international competition expectations. Sitting below NXT Roses will be the Roses Academy for under-18 athletes which exists to build athlete capability across technical, tactical, physical and behavioural benchmarks, embedding the Roses Way among young athletes through a combination of structured training and purposeful competition opportunities. Finally, Regional Positional Days will be reintroduced in the 2026-27 season with the aim of widening the identification pool of athletes and exposing more athletes to national performance standards early in their Pathway journeys.
England Netball Performance Director David Parsons said: “With two global tournaments, this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and next year’s Netball World Cup in Sydney, falling in this next 18 months, there couldn’t be a more exciting time for athletes to demonstrate and benchmark their qualities on the world stage. The group selected for the Vitality Roses programme contains a really vibrant mix of proven quality and breakthrough talent and we are looking forward to supporting their progress.
“The revamped Roses Pathway programmes enable us to be more targeted in our support for future international athletes alongside the NSL Clubs, and the group selected for the new Roses A programme will be supported to make that jump into the senior squad in the coming years.”
The Commonwealth Games will take place this summer in Glasgow between 25 July and 2 August. Further information on upcoming fixtures for the Vitality Roses will be announced in due course.
With thanks to England Netball
