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Meg Jones lost both of her parents in the space of four months last year - Getty Images/Alex Davidson
As much as a resurgent Wales are sure to be spurred by the Principality Stadium atmosphere and the first home game of the Sean Lynn era this weekend, heavy emotion will be driving England as well.
John Mitchell has made 13 changes to the starting side that beat Italy 38-5 to begin their Women’s Six Nations title defence, bringing Meg Jones back into the team at outside centre.
Jones returns to her home city of Cardiff for a first cap since the death of her parents, Simon and Paula, over the past 12 months. Among the replacements, meanwhile, Abi Burton is poised for a Test debut two-and-a-half years after a complicated disease – autoimmune encephalitis – left her in a coma.
Jones, who qualifies to represent the Red Roses through her English mother, has been undergoing bereavement counselling to help her navigate the loss of her parents. She praised the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Players’ Association as well as Mitchell, a “deep human”, for lending their support.
“That guy, he’s got a lot of stories, a lot of empathy,” Jones said of her England head coach. “And he’s probably one of the best listeners I’ve ever come across. That’s really special for this group. As a female athlete in particular, you want: to be heard. And he does that in abundance.”
Mitchell, Jones explained, is fully aware of what Saturday evening will mean to her. In a crowd that is expected to swell beyond 18,000, she will have several well-wishers. “The occasion will speak for itself,” Jones explained. “I’ll just relish it as much as I can, think of my mum and dad in the crowd as if they would always be there anyway.
“I’ve got lots of friends and family coming – it’s not too far for them to go. Like most games, I won’t think of anything else. It’s like my safe haven. And I’ll just be in the moment, enjoying it. And I’m sure after, when I’m having a few cold ones, I can say that was a special occasion and I know they’ll both be proud of me.
“I’ve got my mum’s brother coming with his crew, cousins. I’ve got my best mates coming. So, yeah. There’s a fair crowd of them. My brother and sister, Julie as well, which is my dad’s partner. It’ll just be special to have them even watching and coming. Because my brother and sister don’t really come to watch either. They have got strict instructions though. They’ve got to support England... so we’ll see how that goes.”
It will be Jones’s second appearance at the Principality. Her first was as a 12-year-old representing Cardiff Schoolboys in the DC Thomas Cup. “We won 5-0,” she said on Thursday. “It was a thriller. That was special. I came on at scrum-half then and have changed a fair few positions since.
“Obviously, there’s a good crowd going as well, which is amazing for Welsh women’s rugby. And, yeah, it’s the dead centre of Cardiff. It’s probably one of the best stadiums. Roof’s closed, the atmosphere is going to be pumping. And I’ve watched a few games there supporting Wales. So it’s going to be nice being on the other end.
“I was the first-ever girl [in the DC Thomas Cup],” Jones added. “I think they’ve changed it now just to Cardiff Schools. But I always like to reiterate the boys bit because that was probably one of the first times I defeated all odds as a girl in the men’s game.
“I always go back to those days because it reaffirms the belief that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve come from, what you look like, if you’re good at the job, you’re good at the job, and I like to share that message.”
Captain Zoe Aldcroft, again fielded at blindside flanker, and No 8 Maddie Feaunati are the only players to retain their starting spots, while Ellie Kildunne will win a 50th cap from full-back.
Burton’s new perspective
Covering the back row from England’s bench, Burton has had her perspective altered by a “rocky” and “tough” period that she would not change.
In 2022 she was sectioned when doctors mistook a rare illness affecting her brain for a mental breakdown and she was later placed into an induced coma for more than three weeks when she was diagnosed with NMDAR antibody encephalitis. Now she is simply enjoying her time on the pitch.
“I now play without the thought that I’m going to disappoint somebody or disappoint whoever’s around me, because ultimately every time I step on to the pitch now, I think this could be the last time I step on to the pitch,” said the 25-year-old, a former sevens international who represented Team GB at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics.
“I probably took some of those moments, those five, six years that I had playing in international rugby in the sevens, going to all these extraordinary places, for granted quite a bit. So now when I step on the pitch, good game, bad game, I’m just happy to be running around with my mates, smashing people up, doing what I love. It’s definitely freeing.”
Burton addressed the England squad prior to this Six Nations, delivering a presentation on her illness that Louis Deacon, the England forwards coach, described as “inspiring”. When she is readying herself on the touchline in Cardiff, though, her focus will be unwavering.
“I’ll probably reflect maybe the day before,” Burton said. “But when I get to game day, I just turn into a different kind of beast. I’m just ready to go and be my authentic self on the pitch. When I’m sitting there, I always say to myself: ‘Early touches on the ball, run to bust, run over the top of somebody.’
“They’re the main things that I will probably go through in my head before I go on to the pitch. Not overthink it and get too wrapped into the emotion because I am a bit of an emotional person. I’m going to try my best to focus on the present, focus on my job going forward and then reflect on it afterwards.”
England team: Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins); Abby Dow (Ealing Trailfinders), Meg Jones (Leicester Tigers), Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury), Jess Breach (Saracens); Zoe Harrison (Saracens), Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury); Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury), Lark Atkin-Davies (Bristol Bears), Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears), Morwenna Talling (Sale Sharks), Abbie Ward (Bristol Bears), Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury, captain), Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning), Maddie Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs).
Replacements: Amy Cokayne (Leicester Tigers), Hannah Botterman (Bristol Bears), Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury), Rosie Galligan (Saracens), Abi Burton (Ealing Trailfinders), Lucy Packer (Harlequins), Holly Aitchison (Bristol Bears), Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning).
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