Dominant, impenetrable, invincible. There are so many words to describe this England team. No matter what is thrown at them, they win matches and lift trophies. The Red Roses have an almost untouchable air around them as, despite experiencing the worst injury and unavailability crisis this team has seen for a decade, they swept aside each opponent in the Women’s Six Nations to seal their eighth consecutive title and fifth grand slam in a row.
With a legacy already in the bag with their 2025 World Cup win, England set out in this Women’s Six Nations to start to build a dynasty and they have certainly laid the foundations in this tournament. The Red Roses not only claimed the clean sweep after dismantling France in a sunny but windy Bordeaux but they also became the first team to win the tournament immediately after claiming the World Cup.
The final last September put Ellie Kildunne’s name in lights and this win will surely produce the same outcome. Her two first-half tries set England on their way to victory and the Harlequins star always seems to come good in crunch matches for her team. Mentions too must go to the hooker Amy Cokayne and the captain Meg Jones, who seemed to be everywhere despite being the only Red Rose who has played every minute of the tournament.
France will be bitterly disappointed as they were building something special and even in the buildup the star scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus said she had the same feeling as she did back in 2018 in Grenoble, the last time France beat England. The No 9 had a fantastic game while Ambre Mwayembe and Madoussou Fall Raclot also impressed in a hugely physical encounter.
The France head coach, François Ratier, had noted the importance of not allowing England to score early and get a hold of the match. That plan was executed perfectly. The visitors leaked penalties but France’s defence forced them to make the errors. The hosts’ own attack was also singing but was missing the final touch until the 14th minute when they scored a spectacular team try that broke the deadlock. Mwayembe ripped the ball from an England attack and with superb handling and quick thinking Bourdon Sansus was sent over.
The second part of Ratier’s plan was to “hit England where it hurt” but they failed to land blows in the first 40 and so while the blue brick wall continued to be mightily impressive, it was the Red Roses who scored next through Sarah Bern.
Glorious chaos followed before something clicked in place for England. Their attack started to flow and France’s defence began to wane with the full-back Kildunne scoring twice and Jess Breach completing a brilliant finish in the corner.
A Zoe Harrison penalty began the second half and the fly-half’s impeccable kicking has been essential to this title win. The Saracens player has missed only two shots of 31 at the posts across the five matches and her game management against France was commendable once again.
France gave everything to try and hit back, which was rewarded with a fifth try in five games for the wing Anaïs Grando. Bourdon Sansus had her second but Breach also doubled her try tally to set up a tense final 10 minutes. The atmosphere became more hostile as the replacement scrum-half Alexandra Chambon received a yellow card for a high shot on Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, a decision the French record crowd disagreed with, but England saw out the match a player up. A try for each side rounded out the fixture.
The question continues to be: who can beat England? Their next opponents are Australia in the WXV series in September but Canada and New Zealand, who play them in the same month, are sterner tests. For France, this has been an impressive first tournament in charge for Ratier and one loss will not stop the journey they are on.
