Aldcroft’s nomination may have shocked her, but it is hardly surprising given the key role she has played in England’s impressive 17-Test winning run.
An influential player in a third successive 2021 Women’s Six Nations win, the Scarborough-born forward is one of only two players in England’s team to have started every game in a dominant autumn series.
First helping the Red Roses to convincing back-to-back victories against five-time world champions New Zealand, Aldcroft was part of last weekend’s 51-12 win against Canada.
England have particularly dominated in the line-out – an improved tool for the world number one side after the arrival of forwards coach Louis Deacon in August.
“The tempo we use in that line-out is next level,” Aldcroft says.
“At the moment teams are finding it hard to defend against us. It’s a big thing we have been working on.”
Aldcroft believes the hard work of her team-mates in learning key moves has been paramount to their success, but a hidden talent picked up in childhood may also be proving profitable for her own performances.
She studied dance – ballet, tap and disco – for 11 years from the age of four, a hobby which “made me springy”.
“It gave me a good memory of sequences, so it could have impacted,” she continued. “I am actually a terrible dancer.”