England have been basking in the glory of the women’s Six Nations and the winning sunlight has heated their skin once again as Marlie Packer lifted the trophy for the third consecutive Red Roses Grand Slam and her sixth consecutive title. England were convincing and deadly in their win over France, but showed weaknesses in defence in the second half and gave head coach John Mitchell the tug of war he wanted.
In preparation, Mitchell was keen to learn some lessons from the crunch, especially with a Rugby World Cup at home on the horizon. England were certainly treated by a fierce French team, which dropped to 14 players in the 43rd minute after Assia Khalfaoui received a red card, but she managed to weather the storm.
“The girls got up really well today,” Mitchell said. “This tournament should never be underestimated, it’s a great tournament. It is our bread and butter, here we get our respect at home. We wanted to stay the best 45 days ago, we did it.”
Capricious weather tormented the Bordeaux sky all day, but a few hours before the kick-off, the sky opened. However, this did not dampen the atmosphere, as some fans were sitting two hours before kick-off and a live band sound followed the set-up. When England showed up to heat up, the boos mimicked the weather and rained, just an indication of the impending hostility of the record-breaking crowd.
Fireworks and shouts of “Allez les Bleues” marked the kick-off and France had the first rude melee, but England got a penalty. They stepped into the corner and used their famous maul, but the hosts defended themselves well, forcing the red roses to pass through the hands, and after a few stages Maud Muir was over. Soon England was back, this time by Alex Matthews.
However, France would not be exposed to a steamroller and they had the next swing. They were waiting for their time, approaching, and center Gabrielle Vernier fought back to defend herself on the bulletin board. The home fans were in an uproar before the test, but the score left the cauldron overflowing and brought France’s Grand Slam hopes back to life.
A rendition of the Marseillaise echoed on the ground but was soon silenced when English centre Megan Jones intercepted a pass to score the team’s third goal. But the Red Roses also fell asleep on defense, Pauline Bourdon Sansus opened them and fed Marine Household, who smack a defender to score a goal.