LONDON – England’s position as the dominant force in women’s rugby was further strengthened at Twickenham on Saturday. It was the outcome of almost everyone, everyone predicted pre-tournament predictions, but France gave them an almighty horror.
If France’s handling had been a little more pinpoint in the closure stage, Britain’s heart would have been smashed apart. People from Twickenham who were coming for the party would have witnessed the funeral. Despite the nerves being shredded, the UK has secured its seventh six nation title in bounce by the narrowest margin.
Expectations around this group of red roses are high. Despite both teams encountering a Grand Slam towards Twickenham, the UK was an overwhelming favourite to complete the clean sweep. They simply forgot how to lose. Tournament organizers have also engraved the English name on the trophy before the first tackle of the tournament. However, this story was very ripped apart by a lively, wonderfully ambitious French team.
Red Rose head coach John Mitchell challenged his team to put together a perfect performance against France. It is the barometer of success this group has for themselves. They go for immortality, not for domination.
Of course, all this unfolds with the UK’s Home World Cup lying in wait later this year. Everything is balanced against it, including the weight of the crushing of expectations that this group carries as the dominant force of the sport. They experienced one loss in 56 matches – it was the Rugby World Cup final in November 2022. Red Roses head coach John Mitchell was in charge in May 2023 and is currently unbeaten with England with 25 wins. But the entire journey will be heard, with the date September 27, 2025, ringing out as a hopeful endpoint to win the 1994 and 2014 Immortals to win the sport’s biggest awards.
If the six countries last year were to improve the speed and accuracy of teams’ deaths, this year’s focus was on positional versatility and fine-tuning for the World Cup later this year. Take Maddie Finati as a case appropriately: Saturday’s match against France was her 15th cap, but her first open side – she previously started with No. 6 and No. 8. Holly Aitchison was No. 10 in first choice heading into this year’s competition, but Zoe Harrison started three of his five matches as fly half. In Mitchell’s own words, he knows that Aichison can do, but he needs to learn more about Harrison and Helena Roland’s ability to handle pressure in Test matches in No. 10.
Mitchell used the spirit of “one team as two teams” in the tournament. The team was shuffled into the match, with 34 players being used, but the results remained the same. Prior to France, the UK had beaten Italy 38-5, Wales 67-12, Ireland 49-5 and Scotland 59-7. It was a brutal showcase of going further than the rest of the pack. Such a Gulf even proposed this week from World Cup winner No. 10 Katy Daley-McLean (and BBC commentator Sara Orchard) how to increase competition for the Six Nations by introducing a two-tiered structure.
But such thoughts can wait. First, good news. There was a time when England seemed unstoppable against France. Their attacks were ruthless, quickly carving France, and as usual, there were many positive things. Megan Jones was outstanding at the outside center, Emma Singh showed some early nerves rising up in fullbacks of injured Ellie Kildinne, but proved he could step on a momentary notification to one of the world’s best players if necessary.
Their driveline out secured the first half’s attempt and piqued another attempt, but their ability to leave France’s 22 was almost perfect. Their first half of the five attempts came from Abby Dow, Song (two), Lark Atkin Davis and McDonald, who preferred over Jess Bleach. It was a call from Mitchell, who disbanded the so-called “Holy Trinity.” In the second half, they looked at the Dow score just before the time mark to give England a 15-point advantage. Aldcroft has stood out on the blindside, paying back 10x Mitchell’s faith as a player captaining England at the World Cup later this year.
But this wasn’t perfect. England sees the attempts they have shipped. France was the first in five minutes. Blue It opened up England’s defense through off-road gusts, but the second was an opportunistic effort after Natasha Hunt’s pass dropped it into his own finishing area as Pauline Bourdon Sansus hit. The third was out of England’s 22 strong malls, giving them space to be wider. There were three missed tackles by Joanna Grises in the second half, and the way Kelly Irby danced the English wings for the fourth was on alert. France grabbed the fifth through Morgan Bourgeois and the sixth from the gorgeous Grises, offering a much more tense finish than the British had allowed. Red Roses’ defense requires fine tweaks before a pre-world warm-up match.
Ever since England had a disastrous defeat to New Zealand in 2022, the journey has been about acceptance, rebirth and red. Their attacks were far more fluid than they were three years ago, and they experienced several transitional stages and brutal calls for choice – not even the match-day team today, although not even the match-day team today. It is all expected to take them to this stage where they will host their own World Cup in August and win everything. They don’t do anything less for this group, but when the world gatherings click, they can’t afford to be defensively sloppy.
The outstanding image of Aldcroft, still holding the trophy on this spring evening, offers a further confirmation of progress and Red Roses’ domination. But this group doesn’t want this to be the moment when it reaches its peak. They hope to come later this year on September 27th. There, Aldcroft stands on this same patch of grass, winning the sport’s biggest award.