“I was playing for Scarborough against Whitby,” says Zoe Aldcroft as the England women’s rugby captain pauses before the start of the World Cup this week and describes one of her formative experiences in the game. “I must have been 12 at the time as I was the only girl playing rugby and we were up at Whitby. It was the coldest day ever and the wind was whipping. There was such a steep slope at Whitby Rugby Club and they had this massive guy playing for them. Whenever he broke the line they always used to shout ‘Cannonball.’”

Aldcroft, the inspirational 28-year-old leader and lock forward, lets slip a gap-toothed grin as she remembers the scene. “He’d broken the line and, as the full-back, I was the last one between him and the try line. I knew I had to stop him so I dropped my shoulder and just nailed him. I think it stunned a lot of people.”

Did that crunching tackle mark a sea change in attitudes towards her as a girl playing boys’ rugby? “Definitely in respect of my teammates, which was something I really enjoyed,” she says. “I could see they trusted me and knew I could be just as tough as them.”

We soon move on to a far bloodier incident, which was even more of a test for the young rugby pioneer in North Yorkshire. “There was a different time, in training, where I collided heads with one boy. He started crying and I was holding it in, telling myself desperately: ‘Do not cry, do not cry …’ Then I got up as quick as I could and was ready to go again. I had to show I was stronger, tougher and could take playing with the boys.”

Aldcroft was always “super-sporty” but, before rugby, she also did ballet. “I was not as nimble as other ballet dancers” she says with a little laugh before explaining that she fell into rugby after her brother Jonathan switched sports from football. “I was down there watching him on the sidelines with my parents and the coach was like: ‘C’mon then. Get involved.’

“I thought ‘Yes’ and never looked back. The best thing is that, while I was the only girl that used to play there, Scarborough Rugby Club now have 50 girls playing under-13s, under-15 and a senior set-up for women’s rugby. It’s changed so much.”

There is such optimism and warmth in Aldcroft’s character that it is unsurprising she should regard the next six weeks as another definitive stage in a female sporting revolution: “This World Cup has the potential to change women’s rugby for ever. In England, over the last few years, we’ve been filling stadiums and this tournament will build momentum and so much excitement. If we do win the World Cup, it will change our lives and also all the young girls who are growing from grassroots levels into the professional side.”

The England squad has a northern heartbeat and it seems fitting that their opening group match this Friday should be against USA in Sunderland. “The other week we tried to pick a full XV of girls from the north,” Aldcroft says. “We added a couple from the Midlands and just about made it. That’s important because Sale are the only northern club in PWR [Premiership Women’s Rugby].”

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Her husband, Luke Stratford, is the scrum coach for the women’s team at Sale Sharks. Aldcroft smiles ruefully when reminded Luke has said before that she worries about keeping her place, despite being World Rugby’s women player of the year in 2021 and after winning 65 caps. “I have this impostor syndrome sometimes, but it makes me tick in a weird way. It makes me feel like I have to push myself again because you see so many times where life just changes quickly.”

Aldcroft is an intriguing mix. She carries a searing focus on the field, leading by example, while away from rugby she is relaxed and chatty. Some of her friends in the squad have described her as “the craziest girl” they know. “It’s probably because I’m super-dedicated and, playing rugby, I love the contact that maybe other people shy away from. I really go for it. But, off the pitch, I can be silly and fun and goofy.”

Jonny Wilkinson is her inspiration and during his playing career those last three words she uses to describe herself would never have applied to the obsessive No 10 who helped England win the men’s World Cup in 2003. “Years later I read one of his books,” she says, “and that instilled in me a little bit of his mentality. I related to it because I’m a perfectionist and obsessed with winning and being the best. I met him when I was on a tour and from then I was so interested in his way of thinking.”

Aldcroft smiles when asked if she told Wilkinson that she carries a knitted doll of him at the bottom of her match bag. “No, because I didn’t have my doll back then. But I always think a little like he did because I’m obsessed with my performance.”

I’ve heard that, as soon as she is alone after a game, Aldcroft will watch a recording of the match. “I still do that and it’s always the whole game. My husband’s like: ‘Switch off.’ I say: ‘Just let me watch this and then I can chill.’ I can’t relax until I’ve watched it and seen what I could have done better.”

Does she ever feel proud when watching herself? “Maybe more a feeling of relief. I’d say: ‘I’ve been OK, I’ve done my job.’ Maybe when I’ve finished rugby I’ll look back and think: ‘Oh. That was quite good.’”

Her most painful match remains the 2022 World Cup final against New Zealand – when England started the game in Auckland on the back of an unbeaten run of 30 victories. Aldcroft felt certain they would become world champions: “I wasn’t even nervous because I had absolutely no doubt. In my eyes there was no way we were losing that final.”

England were 14-0 up in 14 minutes but, soon afterwards, Lydia Thompson was sent off. Aldcroft was substituted after 29 minutes after a concussion and England ended up losing a gripping game 34-31. “It was a big lesson because you see how quickly a game can change and you have to fight against the unfairness as well. We had a chance to score a try from that last lineout; 99% of the time we would have caught it and gone over, but it didn’t happen.”

Aldcroft stresses that “the culture around the team had to change and, since Mitch [former All Black head coach John Mitchell] came in, we’ve become a completely different team. We’ve worked massively on our culture, on our bond as a team. We were tight [in 2022] but not to the level that we are now. It’s something we’ve really tried to develop as, the tighter you are as a team, the harder you want to fight for each other on the pitch.

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“We’ve done a lot of work in telling the stories of our lives. We want to have conversations that go into a deeper part of our teammates’ life and know them down to their roots. Knowing what makes each other tick makes such a difference.”

Some members of Aldcroft’s squad have extraordinary personal stories – none more so than Meg Jones who, in March, spoke to me in moving detail about the death of her parents within the space of four shattering months. “Meg is the strongest person I’ve known,” Aldcroft says. “Before her mum and dad died, she stood up and spoke about how her mum was an alcoholic. Lots of people in the room hadn’t known because she’d kept that to herself for so long. When her parents died, it was something she wanted to address with the group and she was completely open. We know when she needs a moment and we support her as best we can.”

Jones is the vice-captain, alongside Marlie Packer, and there is also a wider leadership group. “We all have different attributes and different relationships with different people in the team. It brings us together and allows people to elevate themselves and be empowered.”

Our conversation moves in different tangents and Aldcoft is amused as she remembers her husband wearing shorts to their wedding. They recently celebrated their first anniversary and she describes how, when they first met outside a nightclub in Gloucester, she was 20. “Luke was in fancy dress, dressed as a woman,” Aldcroft says drily, “in a long skirt and a top bought from the charity shop.”

Luke knew she was an England international and, having diligently pursued her, they eventually began to go out and were married last summer. Aldcroft wore an elegant white wedding dress, but her new husband cut a different figure in a sky blue jacket, white shirt, silver bow-tie and navy-blue shorts. “He hates wearing trousers, even in minus conditions,” Aldcroft says. “So that was his one condition – wearing shorts on the wedding day. I had to think what would look good with shorts and as soon as the wedding was done the tie was off and the flip-flops were on. It helps that I’m super-chilled as well.”

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It is almost as distinctive that England’s World Cup captain is keen to become a podiatrist after her rugby career. “This summer I did my foot-health course as a starter and I think I want to do a degree in it. It’s a lot about joint alignment, your gait, and also chopping away scaly skin and sorting out in-grown toenails. My Dad’s feet are the worst. He’s got a big fat corn and I love scraping it out. Honestly, just making bad feet good? I love that.”

We return to the serious stuff. England won their seventh successive Six Nations in April. But they nearly blew a 31-7 lead in the final match against France and scraped home 43-42. “That was the best thing that could have happened,” Aldcroft says. “That second half showed we’re not there yet. So this pre-season we’ve really dug in and gone for it. When we’ve got our foot on their throat we can’t ease off.”

England, with Aldcroft playing flank, dispatched France with conviction in their final warm-up match before the World Cup, winning 40-6 away from home. It was their 27th consecutive win. They also beat New Zealand convincingly, 49-31, last October and Aldcroft picks out the reigning champions, along with France and Canada, as England’s biggest threat: “We know that, when it gets to the World Cup, New Zealand switch it on again. So it’s important we stay ahead of our game.”

The Red Roses squad watched the semi-final and final together as England’s Lionesses won the Euros and she says: “It’s an amazing time for women’s sport and now it’s our turn to do our bit and grow rugby in England.”

There is just time for one last question. Will England win the World Cup? Aldcroft’s answer is as swift as it is resolute: “I believe that we will.”