The latest edition of one of rugby’s great rivalries has brought yet another example of how the gap between the best and the rest of the Women’s Six Nations remains vast. It has been three years since Wales matched England by funding a professional programme, but there is a huge gulf between the two sides; The class of this championship is very fast, very strong and very good.
While last week’s first-round win in Italy was rickety and scratchy, it looked more like the diverse and thoroughly toxic Red Roses team that has dominated this tournament for so long. Our hope was that Wales could improve on the outstanding first 20 minutes in Cardiff last year in which they outplayed their English visitors, but although a narrower final margin would indicate improvement, this was a mixed performance from Wales. Ioan Cunningham was not helped by some subsequent changes due to injury, but the Wales coach will be disappointed not to see his side perform better for the short jumpers on the Severn.
This traveling party helped support a record crowd of 19,705 for a Red Roses home game away from Twickenham. There are understandable concerns that England’s dominance will eventually be a limiting factor on the continued growth of fans, but for now it seems that the paying public are perfectly happy to see the home side win.
And since they can do it in such a fashion, why not? England’s aim in this tournament is to move beyond the brilliant foundations that have helped them establish their dominance and instead become a side capable of playing every which way. It wasn’t all smooth sailing but there were encouraging looks here, especially from a very balanced midfield comprising Holly Aitchison, Tatyana Heard and Meg Jones.
“We want to play with tempo,” captain Marlie Packer said afterward. “We want to field an exciting brand of rugby. We really showed that today. The set-piece was outstanding, our squad worked really well in attack and defence, giving us the front-foot ball to play with.
“The important thing for us is to release the handbrake. Balls will drop at some points in the game because of the game we are trying to play, but we want the fans to come back and watch some really good rugby.”
The intent was set from the moment England first touched the ball. Lleucu George had made a good start for Wales, capitalizing on a spell of sustained possession by taking the penalty won with a powerful attack, but the visitors soon fell behind. Abby Dow struck a first past Jenny Hesketh, leaving the young full-back for dead outside half-back and Maud Muir hit the line with power and expert timing.
England’s sheer pace was causing problems for Wales. John Mitchell emphasized the tempo of the outside linebacker group and partially explained Emily Scarratt’s move to inside centre. Here Jones replaced Helena Rowland, whose tournament ended due to a broken finger, and offered the same moves, tricks, kicks and game-breaking threats honed in the sevens circuit.
Cardiff-born Jones retains the Welsh twang of his formative days across the border, but there are few proudly England players. The center has been a standout in a struggling Leicester team this year and has been outstanding here, punching well above her weight defensively and causing opposite number Hannah Jones all kinds of problems in attack. Zoe Aldcroft had already grabbed England’s second score when Jones launched a counter-attack the length of the field; After a sharp rise, a clever move was made and the try was eventually ended by Hannah Botterman.
Wales had the continuity in phased play to maintain possession, but lacked the play-breaking players needed to break down a solid England defence. Some moments of profligacy didn’t pay off – Sian Jones collected at the bottom of a pile, Aitchison made an interception – but the home side largely dealt with Wales’ carriers. England secured a bonus point before half-time when Lark Atkin-Davies continued his fierce five-goal contact.
Cunningham had filled the bench in the hope of catching England from start to finish, occasionally turning on regular starters Sisilia Tuipulotu and Alisha Joyce-Butchers. It made little impact – Ellie Kildunne took England’s fifth corner within three minutes of the restart, with Dow taking sixth soon after.
Another change stopped the rot. Live on air, Keira Bevan made a surprise inclusion on the bench as Cunningham’s number nine and her try was scored sharply, flicking and dancing under the posts.
But as always, this proved only a temporary respite. Kildunne broke free for a second time shortly after Rosie Galligan’s strike, allowing five tight forwards to get on the scoresheet to show off their play all over the field.
A strong result from Wales would leave some optimism going forward, but there are also some tough questions for Cunningham and his team. Wales had been delighted to finish third in this tournament a year ago and qualify for WXV1, but their trip to New Zealand was a harrowing experience, battered by the sport’s established powers like gap year students. Scotland, on the other hand, returned from the second-tier competition with a trophy and momentum; It wasn’t much of a surprise to see them push France so close.
But Wales seem to have stalled out a bit. Frustrating them here and there so often was the basis of their game; The formation was terrible, their runs were regularly shallow or scattered and chances were lost when they came. Scavengers managed to trouble England during the slump, but the focus on this area left a gap in the wide channels that their opponents could easily exploit. Red Roses continue on their way.