“Ideal” France test underscores England’s continued focus on World Cup
England head coach John Mitchell has guided the Red Roses to another Six Nations title but the stakes begin to get higher with a World Cup on the horizon
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At the weekend, John Mitchell’s Red Roses held on to win the 2025 Six Nations title thanks to a tight 43-42 victory against France at Allianz Stadium.
It was a fourth consecutive grand slam and a seventh straight title for England, who remain the dominant force in the game, but Saturday’s fixture showed that perhaps they are not quite as infallible as people believe.
But in a game where they scored eight tries and clinched the trophy yet again, what did we learn about this Red Roses side as they now look ahead to a home World Cup?
Finally tested
Much of the narrative heading into Saturday’s grand slam decider was whether or not England had been tested enough.
Before the game, the Red Roses were sitting top of the Six Nations table with four bonus point wins and a points difference of +184.
They are now unbeaten in 34 Six Nations games - their last defeat was against France in 2018 - and they have lost only one of their last 56 matches, which was the World Cup final in 2021.
With this year’s World Cup up next and a level of expectation for this side to not only compete but to also win the title for the first time since 2014, there has been cause for concern that the dominance of the Red Roses would be a hindrance to them when the pressure comes on like it did in the last World Cup final.
However, Saturday’s ‘Le Crunch’ may have been exactly the kind of pressure and preparation that England needed for the World Cup, and the last-minute try from Joanna Grisez to make it a one-point game was the ultimate test that Mitchell’s side relished.
“It was ideal for us,” said the England boss. “After a really good start, we could have put them away, but they got energy through the middle of us.
“We always talked about the fact that we would probably have to win the game three or four times. I think we had to win it nine times.
“The Red Roses are a unique team right at the minute and have been for a while, but teams are allowed to perform against us.
“That’s something that will happen and will continue to happen in 2025, so it’s just going to help us raise our game.”
Despite the added pressure, the players explained they felt totally prepared for the situation.
“It was just simple, stick to what we know, we know our game works and we trust it, so we just have to keep backing it,” Meg Jones explained.
“That's our biggest thing. We want to fall back on our game plan and the game that we have, and trust the belief that we have within the group as well.”
Defensive questions
Shrouded in the clouds of blue smoke at the full-time trophy lift was an uneasy feeling that the result had had the potential to slip out of England’s hands.
If it hadn’t been for a dropped ball on the restart from the final try that ended the game, France had been looking lively in attack. They scored on three occasions in the second half and had a clear desire to take England’s crown.
Defensively, it was England’s weakest game of the tournament, conceding six tries in total, with the most before that being against Wales in Round Two, where they leaked just two.
Furthermore, looking beyond the tries conceded and into the tackle statistics, it is clear why England shipped so many points. In rounds one and two, they missed 11 tackles in each game, and then in rounds three and four, that decreased to just seven.
However, against France, this increased to 33 missed tackles, leaving them with an 83% completion rate.
“I wasn’t happy with the defence and I thought they got through us too easily through the middle,” Mitchell explained.
It was clearly a tactic from the French side to target the fringes of the ruck, with Bourdon Sansus getting quick ball and players offloading to target England in those tight areas.
Mitchell added: “We adjusted at half time, and the girls did quite a good job in the second half in that area, but the edge defence was not the standard of the Red Roses.
“It was an unusual defensive performance. That’s probably the thing I’ll unpack. We weren’t winning the first collision, and then we weren’t getting the second in but then the edge stuff in the second half, I certainly didn’t see that coming.”
Perfect Personnel
Throughout this Six Nations campaign, Mitchell has been very open with the media and his players around selection, making it clear that he was testing out combinations to effectively build two squads that would be able to compete at the World Cup.
Saturday was no different, with full-back Emma Sing getting her third start in an England shirt, replacing the injured World Player of the Year Ellie Kildunne, and there was also a second appearance off the bench for Trailfinders Abi Burton, which Mitchell explained is all part of the plan.
“After today, 95 per cent of the girls who are likely to go to the World Cup have had an experience at Allianz Stadium.
“Before this game, that wouldn’t have been the case, so that has definitely been a situation that we’ve planned for, so that the broader group have had an experience here.
“I don’t think you can play eight matches with the same group in a World Cup. Some sides will have to do that, but we won’t because of the personnel we’ve got and the competition.
Centre Jones, who beautifully assisted Claudia MacDonald’s try in the first half, echoed the sentiments of Mitchell.
“It's just a case of trusting every person in that squad.
“I always say it, but Emily Scarratt's not even on the team. That's the depth we're talking about and the sort of expertise we have. It's massive and definitely a strength for us.”
The atmosphere at Allianz
There was a crowd of 33,573 fans at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, but the noise made it feel like the place was packed to the rafters.
Whilst it was over 20,000 less than the 2023 grand slam decider, there is no denying that a core fan base is growing exponentially and it will look to hit its peak in a couple of months' time.
It was hard to walk around the stadium pre-match without spotting a young girl adorned in the limited edition Red Roses cowgirl hats, with the players wearing them for the trophy lift, and there was even a special one donated to Lioness Mary Earps.
It was a fantastic family occasion and one that was relished by the players as well.
“The fans are our 16th person on the pitch,” Trailfinders winger Abby Dow explained after her impressive two tries.
“What I love about the crowds that we have is that they are unique to us. The kids that we’re inspiring, how it’s a family event.
“It’s such a joy to have a crowd that is not just rugby but the Red Roses. I think every single one of them screamed their heart out and gave me goosebumps.”
But it’s not just at the home of rugby where the Red Roses feel at home. Eight grounds around the country will play host to fixtures across the World Cup, and this was reflected in the Six Nations with England playing two matches in York and Leicester.
“For us as players, it’s great that we get to the other areas of England and get the likes of the north of England involved in growing our game,” captain and player of the match Zoe Aldcroft said.
“As Red Roses, we are still in the process of growing our fan base, and with the World Cup coming up, we are going to be playing in different stadiums around England, so I think that’s vital for us.”
