England head coach John Mitchell is unsure of the consequences of a trial introducing a smaller ball in the women's game. A bespoke size 4.5 ball will be used throughout the international fixtures of the reshaped WXV Global Series in September and October.
England fly-half Zoe Harrison previously branded the trial as the "worst decision ever" during the Women's Six Nations. Mitchell believes the smaller ball could lead to more contestable kicking, but he is uncertain of its overall impact on England's game or that of their rivals.
England's kickers and key ball handlers were provided with the smaller balls in advance of their training camp. Mitchell stated that the sample size for assessing the ball's impact is currently too small.