John Mitchell defends England's forward-heavy style

England coach John Mitchell has stated that he “doesn’t care” what critics say about his team’s style of rugby as they ready themselves for Saturday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final against France at Ashton Gate.

The Red Roses plan to rely on the strength of their maul and scrum after dominant forward-based display in heavy rain against Scotland.

England have scored 38 tries in their four World Cup matches so far, 22 of which have come from their pack. The team has shown both physicality in set pieces and adaptability in attack.

Mitchell said England have proven over the past three years that they can play in different styles depending on what circumstances demand.

"We've demonstrated over the last three years that we can play any particular way," Mitchell said.

"If you look at the conditions that we were exposed to last weekend, it'd be pretty b----- stupid of us to not use that strength and go route one.

"And if the weather's going to continue that way then we'll still be building pressure in that area. But we do have the ability to play any particular way. Who knows which way we'll go?

"If the conditions continue the way they are, you're going to see set-piece still being a critical part of the way that we build pressure and create dominance."