Rooted in PWR: Zoe Aldcroft

From watching on the side of a muddy pitch in Scarborough to leading England out at Allianz Stadium, Zoe Aldcroft's journey to the top has taken her all over the country.

Famous for captaining Gloucester-Hartpury to their historic three-peat, Aldcroft's rugby career has been rooted in the PWR.

Before the bright lights of Kingsholm or the Allianz, however, the 28-year-old comes from humble beginnings, with opportunities for girls sparse in her youth.

"I first started playing rugby when I was about eight years old," Aldcroft said. "I went down to my local rugby club with my older brother to watch, and I was just in the mud on the side of the pitch, and the coach got me to join in.

"I just remember it being super fun and the camaraderie after was brilliant. I remember we were about 10 years old and we were doing dives off the bar in the rugby club.

"I was the only girl in the club up until I was 12, then I joined a girls' section out in Malton, which was half an hour away, and then headed to West Park Leeds after that, just to get more game time."

The drive from Scarborough RFC to West Park Leeds RFC is about two hours, and Aldcroft's desire to make the trip shows her deep love for the game from a young age.

Luckily for the lock, her talent was quickly recognised by representative bodies.

"I played for Yorkshire U15s, and just progressed from there, playing for the North of England," she recalled.

"Then when I was 16, I headed down to Hartpury College, which is when I really started to believe that I actually want to play for England, and started to put the work in."

At Hartpury, the England captain developed her game, earning a professional contract with Darlington Mowden Park straight out of college, and after a year, she made her England debut.

"I remember the tour that we went on [to North America], the coach at the time said, 'You're just going to go out for a bit of experience and see what it's like being around the team,'" said Aldcroft.

"And then he came up to us that week and said we were going to get our first cap. It was absolutely blazing sunshine out in Salt Lake City in America, and I just felt completely nervous.

"But I think I went on with about four minutes to go, it was really, really good experience."

The ever-modest England Captain failed to mention that she scored a try with the last play to give the Red Roses victory over the then Six Nations champions, France.

From there, Aldcroft became a regular part of the Red Roses' second row and went to the 2017 World Cup, only for her progress to be brought to a halt.

"After my first World Cup in 2017, I had a really bad foot injury, so I had a year out after that," said the 28-year-old.

"From there, I had three bad injuries, so I was out for pretty much three seasons altogether. That was a very tough time, but it made me realise how to use my body a bit more.

"I really tuned into when I wasn't feeling right, or what I needed to do to kind of make myself stronger and it just took me to that next level of athleticism."

With newfound fitness, Aldcroft reached the top of the game, winning the 2021 World Rugby XVs Player of the Year.

Over the next few years, the Yorkshirewoman was a key part of the Red Roses' dominance, and in January, John Mitchell announced she would take over from Marlie Packer as England's captain.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Premiership Women’s Rugby (@thepwr)

"For me, stepping into that role as a captain, it's super, super important that I allow others around me to be the best that they can be and thrive in the environment," said Aldcroft.

"So, bringing others up with me, but also really concentrating that I'm still the best that I can be and not letting all my different emotions get in the way of that.

"It's definitely a big one for me, making sure that everyone feels valued in the team, and that we can really go somewhere special together."

With Aldcroft leading the way, the Red Roses are firm favourites for a home World Cup but their ambitions extend beyond silverware.

They are just as determined to grow the game of rugby for young girls, to ensure no one has to stand on the side of the pitch like Aldcroft did as a child.

"We're playing all over England. It's not just one area. We're getting into the north of England and the south of England," she said.

"That's really important, it opens up so many different pathways, and we can connect with so many other communities.

"We want our legacy to be that when young girls are coming to these games, we want them to believe that they can achieve what we're doing on the pitch as well.

"We want to be up, and we want to connect with as many of those fans as possible. [After a game] a lot of us will be out for hours after the game, trying to connect to as many different people as possible.

"It's super important though, we stay really close to our fan base, and that we're giving back to the community.

"As a legacy, it would be amazing to see a massive boost in the sport. We are getting more people to games and everyone is wanting to come and watch. The aim is to go and win a World Cup and for people to be inspired watching us."