England's Red Roses have laid the foundation for a successful defence of their Rugby World Cup title in 2029 by clinching an eighth successive Women's Six Nations championship. The world champions demonstrated their ability to triumph even when forced to stretch their squad to the limit, overcoming a series of injuries and retirements.
Building for the Future
Head coach John Mitchell had always planned to blood new talent, but the scale of injuries was unforeseen. Key players such as Hannah Botterman, Alex Matthews, and Morwenna Talling were ruled out for all or large parts of the tournament, while Sadia Kabeya and Maddie Feaunati also missed matches. This forced the coaching staff to constantly adjust the lineup, akin to playing Tetris to plug holes in the team.
England's fourth-choice loosehead prop Liz Crake was on the bench for the decisive match against France on Sunday, and various lock pairings were tested throughout the competition. This upheaval meant the Six Nations felt like a new beginning rather than a sequel to the World Cup, according to full-back Ellie Kildunne.
Hunger for More
Kildunne emphasised the team's relentless drive: "We want to be a team that wins back-to-back World Cups. You can't rest on successes because every time you play you go back to zero. We weren't perfect throughout this Six Nations, but we still won it. That's exciting. When you're at the top, you always want more."
Mitchell echoed this sentiment, noting that no English team, men's or women's, has achieved a grand slam and back-to-back World Cups. "We wanted to be intentional about winning on winning because in four years' time we want to do the same thing. Today is the first step," he said.
New Talent Emerges
England have more than 10 players to welcome back from injury, and competition for places has never been higher thanks to new caps like Demelza Short, Millie David, and Haineala Lutui. Despite the World Cup being three years away, England's performance underlines their status as early favourites to retain the trophy.
Tournament Growth
The Red Roses' dominance has sparked debate about whether it is bad for the game, but the final against France was a highly competitive contest. France could have won had they capitalised on early dominance. The tournament itself has thrived, with record attendances for England, France, Scotland, Ireland, and Italy. For the first time, all home nations played at their main stadiums in one tournament.
Scotland drew 30,498 for their match against England, while Ireland's record-breaking crowd of 31,294 came for their game against Scotland. Ireland back-row Aoife Wafer said: "To be out here in front of 32,000 people is my wildest dream come true. See you all here next year."
What's Next?
The Barbarians take on Wales in June, followed by the WXV series in September. Canada, New Zealand, and Australia will face various Six Nations sides, each aiming to end England's winning streak, which now stands at 38 games.
