England’s Six Nations women’s campaign has been great, but it seems even truer when you look at their numbers: 270 points scored over 44 tries in five matches, with only 41 points conceded. Captain Marlie Packer said after Saturday’s championship win over France that there are no limits to what Red Roses can achieve, which must be a daunting prospect for any opposition they face.
Last year, England was criticized for not having a dynamic action starting, and the team often relied on its mouth to keep the scoreboard going. But this tournament saw their action starting diversify, with tries from all areas of the field. The three backs were particularly imposing, scoring 18 of England’s 44 tries.
Packer isn’t the only player who believes the sky is the limit for red roses – it’s a team-wide message that gives an insight into how not everyone involved is resting on their laurels. “I think we have so much potential and depth,” mastermind Maud Muir said after England’s Grand Slam win. “There are so many other girls coming, I’m really excited to see where we’re going next year or so.”
But how does such a commanding side improve? Well, their tournament was perfect in terms of results, and England started with the maximum 25 points to sign a third grand slam in a row and a sixth title in a row. Although their performance was undeniably impressive, but not the full product. The main area that red roses need to sharpen is their discipline.
Sarah Beckett, the number 8, received a red card and a three-match ban for her crocodile throw on Michela Sillari in England’s first match against Italy. Meanwhile, hooker Amy Cokayne received a red card after receiving two yellow cards against Scotland and was ruled out of a match. The team also had two more trash cans in the tournament.
When asked about the team’s lack of discipline, the English coaches insisted that they were not worried, that the yellow and red cards were a consequence of their new rude style and that everyone interested would work on it. But if this problem persists, it could be costly for England at the next World Cup – keeping 15 players on the field is essential to ensure that winning the sport’s biggest trophy doesn’t get past John Mitchell’s team again.
A lack of discipline also means admitting penalties. In all Six Nations, England gave 50, with the worst individual record being 15 against Wales. England improved their penalties in the first half against France; in the first 40 minutes of the match they gave only one. But they conceded nine more in the second half and the bleeding of penalties gave the home team momentum.
Another area where England could improve is efficiency. It may seem strange to ask a team that has scored 44 tries in five games to score more, but it has left some on the field. The game against Ireland was the perfect example of the deadly effectiveness of the Red Roses with 14 tries in front of more than 48,000 fans at Twickenham. If you manage to find the key to unlock this level of performance in most of your games, you will be truly unstoppable.
Many may raise an eyebrow when they hear that red roses believe they can get superior, but they have proven skeptics wrong in the past and have undeniably found a different gear this year. Much of this is thanks to Mitchell, for whom the Six Nations was his first tournament as England’s head coach. To say that he did it well would be an understatement.
“I think we are under pressure every day when they play sports,” he said. “I’m really kissing her, I can’t wait to walk up to her. It’s just my way of doing it, and it’s also the kind of girl. Having the opportunity to train the red roses on the way back was a pretty easy decision at the end of the day. They have a winning mentality and want to improve. I think we’ve set a pretty good benchmark in this competition to send a message to everyone else about how we want to play the game.”
The message is loud and clear: England have found another report and are still looking for top speed. They hope to be in full swing at the home World Championship next year.