The Red Rose Who Could Have Been A Black Fern - Feaunati's World Cup Call

2025 Women's Rugby World Cup

Venue: England Date: 22 August- 27 September

Coverage: Every lucifer involving England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland unrecorded connected either BBC One aliases BBC Two, while each crippled will beryllium unrecorded connected nan BBC iPlayer and nan BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app, pinch sum connected BBC 5 Live, Sport Extra, nan BBC Sport website and app

When caput coach John Mitchell tapped Maddie Feaunati connected nan enarthrosis and told her she had made England's Rugby World Cup squad, it was an ecstatic infinitesimal for nan 23-year-old.

"I was afloat of emotions and ace speechless," she told BBC Sport. "I didn't really cognize what to say, I was conscionable very grateful and humbled by it."

After nan first daze had subsided, location was only ever going to beryllium 1 personification nan number 8 was going to telephone first - her father, nan erstwhile Samoa world Isaac Feaunati.

Isaac, who besides wore nan 8 shirt, spent astir of his profession successful England, playing for London Irish, Rotherham, Leeds and Bath, and featured for his state astatine nan 1999 World Cup.

He besides recovered fame successful Hollywood aft playing New Zealand fable Jonah Lomu successful nan movie Invictus alongside Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

Feaunati credits her begetter for her ain emotion of rugby.

"I grew up astir it," she said. "It was truthful normal to me. I conjecture location was ne'er a constituent successful clip wherever I discovered it, I was virtually calved into nan rugby world.

"I retrieve conscionable seeing him smash people, tally done people, sewage a spot lipsy sometimes, but I conscionable retrieve having nan champion memories.

"It has shaped who I am. I cognize nan crippled good because I grew up astir it. I've still sewage tons to learn, of course, but I conjecture it conscionable has fixed maine a different oculus for it."

Born successful Leeds to a Samoan begetter and a Kiwi mother, Feaunati, who spent clip increasing up successful New Zealand, had nan prime of playing for 3 different world sides.

However, contempt embracing each of nan blended cultures successful her family, she says it was ever nan Red Roses for her.

"It was nary brainer for me," she said.

"England was location to america for truthful long. Obviously we stayed successful New Zealand for a while truthful some became location but to maine England rugby has done truthful overmuch for maine and my family. It was ever astir nan English rugby set-up, nan group arsenic well.

"My Kiwi accent confuses people, it's still a portion of me. I'm still proud of increasing up location and learning their culture, but I'm very proud to beryllium a portion of nan Red Roses."

Feaunati's World Cup call-up marks a whirlwind 2 years - she only moved backmost to England to subordinate Exeter Chiefs successful 2023 and made her England debut during nan 2024 Six Nations.

After turning down an attack from nan Black Ferns earlier she committed to England, she has since faced New Zealand doubly successful her profession and will travel up against Samoa successful nan World Cup excavation stage.

She admits that playing against nan countries that mean truthful overmuch to her family is 'emotional' but that she knew England was nan squad for her ever since she first wore nan achromatic shirt.

"I emotion this environment; I emotion being retired connected nan section pinch these girls, I emotion training arsenic difficult arsenic we do, and I want to beryllium a portion of this badly."

With 17 caps nether her belt, Feaunati says she is learning each time from nan England number eights who person worn nan garment earlier her.

Alex Matthews, 32, will beryllium playing successful her 4th World Cup, while erstwhile England skipper Sarah Hunter is now nan defence coach for nan Red Roses.

"I conscionable chew her [Hunter's] receptor disconnected daily, which I'm not judge if she loves, but I conscionable inquire her heaps of questions," said Feaunati.

"She's sewage loads and loads of experience. Alex arsenic well, they're truthful unfastened to helping me, which I conscionable love, it's really cool."

Unlike Hunter and Matthews, Feaunati has not felt nan symptom of England's caller grounds successful World Cups. England person mislaid 5 of nan past six finals, and past tasted occurrence successful 2014.

She admits nan truth she is astir to play successful her first World Cup is simply a 'surreal' infinitesimal but 1 she is taking successful her stride.

"It was ne'er 'I'm gonna get there'," she said.

"It was much conscionable a extremity that I conscionable slow started ticking off. But arsenic soon arsenic Mitch [head coach Mitchell] said those words, I was really like, 'OK, I'm successful it now'.

"I conscionable want to support being nan subordinate I am, conscionable support being fearless is really what I'm going after.

"We talked to nan girls that won nan 2014 1 and they conscionable want america to person that feeling. It would beryllium ace cool to do it pinch this bunch of girls because it's a typical group."

As for her parents, who will beryllium flying to England from New Zealand for nan World Cup, will location beryllium immoderate divided allegiances erstwhile it comes to who they will beryllium supporting?

"They're 100% backing nan Red Roses," she says laughing. "My full family is down america each complete nan world."