Six of the best
Third straight Slam for Red Roses
ENGLAND turned on the style in Bordeaux to silence a hostile home crowd and seal a third consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam against 14-player France.
The Red Roses ran in five tries in a glittering first-half display before adding a sixth after the break. And any hopes of France staging a second-half fightback were all but ended when prop Assia Khalfaoui was sent off.
There were joyous scenes at the final whistle as England celebrated a sixth Six Nations title in a row and a first for coach John Mitchell. Captain Marlie Packer said: ‘I’m super proud of the girls. We have just won a Grand Slam. It means everything, but I am lifting the trophy with the girls — I am not on my own.
‘And to do it here in this atmosphere which was hostile is a real plus. It shows we can turn up when we need to. It has taken a squad effort not just as coaches and players, but from the backroom staff as well. We have been building as a group on and off the pitch.
‘We are well and truly into a John Mitchell era — we will keep growing as a group.’
England started fast with tries by forwards Maud Muir and Alex Matthews before Gabrielle Vernier responded for France.
Centre Megan Jones grabbed an intercept try to restore England’s 14-point advantage, with Marine Menager then scoring to keep France in touch.
But tries by Packer and Amy Cokayne pulled Mitchell’s side clear before Khalfaoui saw her
dangerous ruck clear-out upgraded to a red card on review.
Despite her team being a player down for the majority of the second half Menager crossed for her second try, but Matthews made sure there was to be no famous comeback with her second score.
The victory extended England’s record winning streak to 29 games and is a major stepping stone on the way to next year’s World Cup.
Mitchell, still unbeaten as England coach, said: ‘The girls are highly driven and they deserved this. The French girls came at us, gave us a real arm wrestle and we dealt with it well. There is definitely a belief and confidence around what we are doing and the girls have done an amazing job.’
And the World Cup on home soil, next autumn? ‘One step at a time,’ cautioned the Kiwi.