LONDON :If England thrash France to secure a seventh successive Women’s Six Nations title on Saturday it might please most of the Twickenham crowd but would probably be the last thing the team and coaches need with their eyes on a bigger prize.
England’s total dominance is not good for the sport in terms of World Rugby’s much-advocated desire to “grow the game” or attract new viewers and though they can only keep beating what is in front of them, it is hard to improve via a conveyor belt of easy wins.
The statistics behind their dominance are extraordinary.
England have won the last six Six Nations titles, winning every game, and the only reason they are not seeking a seventh successive Grand Slam is that the 2021 competition was shortened because of COVID.
Last week’s victory over Scotland was their 30th in a row in the championship. The last time they lost was in France in 2018, and that was by only one point. They have won 20 of the 29 tournaments in its various formats – including 14 of the last 19 – claiming 18 Grand Slams along the way.
In all rugby they have won 54 of their last 55 games with the glaring omission being the dramatic 34-31 Auckland defeat by New Zealand in the 2022 Women’s Rugby World Cup final.
In September they will seek to gain revenge for that heartbreak, with all things pointing towards a probable rematch with New Zealand in the Twickenham final of this year’s World Cup on September 27.
England were stunned in an extraordinary finale in Auckland when the hosts had the temerity to compete for the first time at their opponents’ previously-unchallenged and imperious lineout and stole the ball on their own line, and with it the trophy.
England had gone into the final forgetting how to lose, almost forgetting what it was like to be put under pressure, so a rigorous examination by the only European team remotely equipped to give them a game would be of infinitely more value than another processional win.
They began this year’s Six Nations with a 38-5 win over Italy and hammered Wales 67-12 in Cardiff. Ireland made them work harder in Cork as they led only 7-5 at halftime, before piling on the power to come home 49-5 winners. Last weekend against Scotland at Leicester’s Welford Road they cruised to a 59-7 win.
That adds up to a tally of 213 points for – more than 50 per match – with 29 against. They have scored 33 tries and conceded five.
Those huge wins have come despite coach John Mitchell regularly shuffling his squad and making some experimental selections as he seeks to “build two teams” for the World Cup.
France should certainly present a stiffer challenge. They beat Ireland 27-15, Scotland 38-15, Wales 42-12 and Italy 34-21 and, although England hammered them 42-21 in Bordeaux last year, they are also likely to be lifted by the occasion having pushed England all the way before losing 38-33 in the corresponding fixture two years ago.
That was watched by a world record crowd of 58,498 but, perhaps due to the perceived lack of jeopardy surrounding the Red Roses, this Saturday’s attendance is expected to be around 40,000.
