Sarah Rendell’s big match preview:
“England are on the hunt for their seventh consecutive Women’s Six Nations title on Saturday but their toughest opponent yet in France stand in their way, who are also targeting their own grand slam success.
“France have been the runner-up to England in the past five Six Nations and the Red Roses have beaten their rivals in their last 14 meetings across all competitions. Twickenham will witness something special whoever wins.”
Pressure is a privilege, so they say, and there is pressure on England at Twickenham today no matter how dominant they seem to be. The Red Roses may have won 24 matches in a row, and 33 consecutively in the Women’s Six Nations, but France have won four out of four in this campaign andLes Bleuesnow stand in the way of a seventh straight title, plus a grand slam, for John Mitchell’s side.
England ran in nine tries last weekend as theybrushed Scotland aside– the wing Claudia MacDonald had a particularly impressive day with two tries, and collectively everything fell into place for this richly talented squad. But Mitchell has heavily rotated the lineup through the tournament and not everything has come easily in England’s four wins. Italy and Ireland presented problems and now France will be expected to provide the toughest examination yet.
It isWorld Cup yeartoo, so there is an opportunity for individuals to cement their place in Mitchell’s tournament plans – or play their way out of contention if things don’t go as smoothly as home fans will hope. Team news and more coming up.
Kick-off at 4.45pm UK time.