The Red Roses completed one of their most impressive Six Nations series to ensure John Mitchell got away to a perfect start.
One record that has been little remarked: they became the first team to record full points (28) in a campaign involving three away matches. Their previous Grand Slam wins (with bonus points) all had three home games.
As so often, everything led up to the duel with France. That they won far more convincingly than two years ago was a vindication of their constant wish to improve.
Now the world of rugby has to decide whether that is the best outcome. Most England supporters say ‘Of course it is! It’s up to the rest to catch up.’ Whether that is possible, short or long-term, remains to be seen.
Italy (0-48)
For the first game in Parma Mitchell’s pick was bound to cause the odd surprise: he had such an abundance of talent. In the event he picked Kelsey Clifford to start in the front row. Emily Scarratt and Abbie Ward made two highly welcome returns to action after long lay-offs for different reasons.
As it happened, the centre pairing of Scarratt and Helena Rowland lasted only one game, so did Zoe Harrison’s hold on the 10 shirt. Indeed the line-up of backs stayed unaltered for the four remaining matches: Hunt, Aitchison, Breach, Jones, Heard, Dow and Kildunne. Each offered starring performances that delighted their fans, but must have made the other contenders wonder when they might ever get their chance.
That was one criticism I have of the selection policy. Of the 35 or 36 players names for each round, a goodly number didn’t once reach the battlefield. It was as if Mitchell’s first priority was to win every match; natural enough, but there is the longer view – the second edition of WXV and the all-important World Cup next year. It would been been a relief to see the odd outsider or two (Sing, Bridger, Laflin, etc) given the chance to show their paces. That’s the ’rainy day’ syndrome at work.)
The first half-hour in Parma was almost the only spell when the Red Roses looked close to ordinary (0-0). Sarah Beckett received a red card that was to start an extended debate about England’s vulnerability to serious penalties.
By the end of the game they had achieved a clean sheet and proved they were going to be desperately hard to beat. Ellie Kildunne’s two tries were merely the start of a torrent of them (9), placing her firmly in the spotlight.
Wales (46-10)
The game started the same way as a year ago, Wales on top and taking an early lead with a penalty. That was as far as the good news reached for them. As with the other nations hoping to catch up on the two leaders, we could measure their improvement only by comparing year-on-year results.
For the Welsh this was another unwelcome setback after the prize of a place in WXV1. The 6N can be very unforgiving: for every advance there has to be an equivalent retreat.
Scotland (0-46)
It was a similar story up in Edinburgh. England kept another clean sheet, but the Scots restricted them to 46 points, a considerable advance on recent years. (80-0 at HQ, remember?) So the Red Roses had to work harder for their rewards, and that is precisely what most people want to see. The match was lit up by Meg Jones’ display of footballing skills. On a wretchedly wet day she chased a low grubber, then kicked a cross to her left, from where Kildunne acrobatically scored by a post.
Ireland (88-10)
A day of mixed emotions. The RFU had bravely picked Twickenham as the venue for the team that had finished winless the year before. Over 48,000 poured in to watch the one game that saw the winners score more than 50 points.
Here England were the complete package, every player fitting into a pattern that seemed pre-ordained, but was in fact impromptu, played off the cuff. Kildunne failed to keep up her sequence of two tries per game; she scored three.
The hope had to be that this reverse wouldn’t have too negative an effect on the young Irish side Scott Bemand was putting together. In the event they finished so well they qualified for WXV1.
France (21-42)
Now for the one that mattered most. The French were unbeaten too, but their record was not as impressive. They hadn’t once managed to move on to a high-scoring finish. We can praise their opponents for that, but the question remained: why, with all the talent they had across their squad, could they not achieve more destructive victories?
A huge crowd turned out in Bordeaux to cheer them on, but the amount of booing they found necessary was a sign of English domination. Of course les Bleues made them work hard, but by the end the Red Roses had reached one point beyond their previous biggest total (2019 at Doncaster), since their last defeat in 2018.
Is Competition tightening?
This is a constant concern. One crude measuring-stick is the ‘Points for’ v ‘Points against’ figures since England’s last failure to win the championship six years ago:
PF PA
2024: 270 41
2023: 271 48
2022: 282 22
2021: incomplete tournament, affected by the pandemic
2020: 219 20 (tournament also incomplete)
2019: 278 45
So no clear evidence one way or the other. England’s scoring powers have remained similar, only 2020 bringing a leaner harvest (Covid-19 at work). The five opponents haven’t once totalled a half-century. Many critics of the way the tournament runs will take that as firm proof of its lasting inequalities.
Here’s another approach: England’s match-totals:
2024: 48, 46, 46, 88, 42
2023: 58, 68, 59, 48, 38
2022: 57, 74, 58, 69, 24
2021: incomplete tournament, affected by the pandemic
2020: 19, 53, 27, 66, 54 (tournament also incomplete)
2019: 51, 41, 51, 55, 80
From 2019 to 2023 England mounted fourteen scores of 50+; this year one. That’s more encouraging!
Tailpiece
Just to show the difficulties of selection (and the need to start sorting preferences), here is the starting XV from Round Five, then an alternative XV:
15 KILDUNNE 14 DOW 13 JONES 12 HEARD 11 BREACH 10 AITCHISON 9 HUNT 1 BOTTERMAN 2 COKAYNE 3 MUIR 4 ALDCROFT 5 TALLING 6 KABEYA 7 PACKER 8 MATTHEWS
15 SING 14 LAFLIN 13 ROWLAND 12 SCARRATT 11 MACDONALD 10 HARRISON 9 INFANTE 1 CARSON 2 ATKIN-DAVIES 3 BERN 4 GALLIGAN 5 WARD 6 BECKETT 7 ALLEN 8 CLEALL
Of course this second listing is a personal view; you will have all sorts of variations in mind. And there are several others not listed here who have already worn the England shirt with distinction.
We’re ready; the referee blows her whistle. Which side wins?
