Red Roses prop Mackenzie Carson: ‘You have to be a bit insane to play in the front row’

Capped three times for Canada before making her England debut last year, Carson is preparing to take on old friends and foes in the Red Roses’ WXV decider this weekend

Mackenzie Carson was capped by Canada before switching her international allegiance to England last year (Getty Images)

For Mackenzie Carson, the last three weeks have served as something of a homecoming. Born in Langley, raised in Abbotsford and schooled at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, WXV has been held very much on the Red Roses prop’s turf.

“It’s where I’d say my home truly is,” Carson explains, having won three caps for Canada before switching allegiance to England last year. “The majority of my friends and family are still here. I don’t think I played here for Canada. My family were super excited to see me get the chance to run out there.”

Little has been conventional about Carson’s journey into an England shirt. It was for her native land that she won her first three international caps in 2018 and 2019, debuting as a replacement hooker against the Red Roses in Doncaster. But subsequent call-ups never came, leaving the front-rower in the international wilderness at the start of 2023.

An England propping crisis ahead of last year’s Six Nations opened a door that Carson had thought closed. Qualifying through her mother and having served the mandatory three-year stand down period, she was whisked onto the bench for the opening encounter with Scotland having never officially been named in an England squad.

Carson has been virtually ever-present since. “I thought it might just be one or two caps, rather than this many,” the loquacious loosehead admits. “Definitely before playing for Canada, being in and out was the nature of them not being professional. You never really get that stability. It has been really cool to focus my time on rugby, and now have that financial stability behind me.”

Mackenzie Carson will take on old friends and teammates when she faces Canada (Getty Images)

Her story gives Carson a unique perspective on the women’s rugby landscape. While she now enjoys all that is on offer in the best-resourced programme in the world, her former Canada teammates remain part-time, having to balance their careers with other jobs or studying. Some are forced to sleep on sofas or pay their own way to attend training camps.

And yet, they remain remarkably successful. This year has seen a landmark first win over world champions New Zealand at the Pacific Four tournament, while Canada’s sevens side came home from Paris 2024 with an unexpected silver medal. They very nearly upset England at the semi-final stage of the last World Cup, and again shape among the top contenders for next year’s tournament. Yet these achievements leave Carson feeling “bittersweet”.

“They have a huge ask,” she explains. “They make so many sacrifices, and they do so well and then Rugby Canada goes, ‘oh, they are doing well, we don’t need to do anything’. They are doing it despite all of the adversity they face, and we are doing it because we have the right resources to do it. I don’t know what it is like for them now a few years down the road. But when I see them do well, it gives Rugby Canada an out, almost, to not invest in the programme.

Canada are able to beat the world’s best sides despite a lack of investment from their union (World Rugby)

“I’d love to see Rugby Canada invest in them. They could be one of the best in the world if they had the investment behind it.”

Her experiences with Canada have helped shape Carson’s outlook now. If her debut came as a surprise to even her, the fact that she has remained a vital part of the front row room ever since speaks to her staying power and desire for continuous improvement. She has forged close bonds with plenty of players in the England squad and at Gloucester-Hartpury, who she joined from Saracens last season, providing her with a support network with her family and friends usually thousands of kilometres away.

“I think there have been some hard moments where I didn’t always feel like I was meant to be here. You always have impostor syndrome. The accent probably gives it away a lot, too - I sound completely different to everyone here!

Mackenzie Carson is enjoying being part of England’s journey towards next year’s World Cup (Getty Images)

“But the commonality is always rugby. That’s what has brought me to this point in my life. For me, it’s all about the enjoyment and being there with the girls running out in front of so many people. That’s what keeps me going.

“The relationships I’ve built in England are almost like my chosen family. I don’t have a lot of family here so I spend a lot of time with the girls, and they are my main support system. That is really special - they are people I’ve chosen to be around.”

Carson’s partner is fellow prop Sarah Bern. Player-and-player relationships are relatively common within women’s rugby, but the couple’s shared mastery of the front row dark arts provides an extra challenge or two — not least when they have to scrummage against one another, as they did in last year’s Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) final.

Mackenzie Carson’s partner is fellow England prop Sarah Bern (right) (Getty Images)

“It’s definitely an interesting dynamic that I’ve not really experienced before,” Carson concedes. “But it’s also really special because not many people get to do this, and to do it with your partner is quite cool.

“Sport is such an inclusive space, so why not have that. There is a level of professionalism, and rugby is a physical sport so when we have to go against each other, we have to put it aside and do a job. It can be quite funny, but also handy because we have that trust in each other to work together and know we are pushing other to be the best.

“Naturally, we spend a lot of time together as a front row. You have to be a bit insane to play in the front row. We are quite like-minded people who stick together, and a bit mental. But it’s important, because if we are not on the same page when we are out there doing the tough bits, it makes our job a lot tougher. Those off-field bonds are really important and Mitch [England head coach John Mitchell] is big on that.

Carson believes you have to be ‘insane’ to play in the front row (Getty Images)

“I don’t do things half-hearted - my goal has always been to go to a World Cup and win a World Cup. There are other ways of success in terms of inspiring young girls and getting people involved, filling the seats at Allianz Stadium [Twickenham]. Those are all driving factors, but I want to win. That’s the crux of it. I don’t want to go to a World Cup just to have fun. That’s always been something that has driven me, and there is no group I’d rather do it with other than the group I’m with now.”