England far from perfect but Red Roses machine marches on

Being crowned world champions in front of a record women’s rugby crowd of 81,885 at Allianz Stadium set the bar very high for John Mitchell’s England.

As an occasion, it does not really get much bigger in any sport.

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The Red Roses have played across the country in order to build a loyal fan base, which all came together in September as they defeated Canada to claim a first World Cup in 11 years.

So, what was next? Was it too big an ask to try to fill Allianz Stadium again?

With the momentum of record-breaking World Cup viewing figures, England called on their supporters to return to Allianz Stadium for their opening game of this year’s Women’s Six Nations against Ireland.

It was a bold call, and one that delivered, as a crowd of 77,120 turned out to see Mitchell’s side defeat Ireland in their first game since becoming world champions.

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A one-off home World Cup final was always going to draw a large crowd, but to back that up with a record crowd for a Women’s Six Nations game – beating the 58,498 who watched the Grand Slam decider in 2023 – is just as important for the sport’s growth.

“You can never replicate a game that has happened before [the World Cup final],” England full-back Ellie Kildunne told BBC Sport.

“The World Cup final is a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life and I don’t want to compare the two things.

“We have to get used to this. We sold out then [the World Cup final] and we nearly sold out now, this is going to become the norm.

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“This shows where the women’s game is going and long may it last.”

A decade ago, a crowd of 2,500 watched England narrowly beat Ireland at the same venue.

Hooker Amy Cokayne is the only player from that game to feature in the back-to-back wins at Allianz Stadium.

If you had asked the then-teenager if that would be possible, her likely answer would have been more out of hope than expectation.

But this is now where the Red Roses are, they are world champions and expectations are at an all-time high.

‘I just dropped the ball’

Mitchell’s side were far from perfect in their five-try win over Ireland, but they were always in control as they extended their record-breaking winning run to 34 matches.

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Three first-half tries opened up a 21-point lead before Kildunne dropped the ball over the tryline.

Ireland and England then each scored two second-half tries, as the encounter in front of a record crowd failed to catch fire.

The 2024 world player of the year Kildunne remained calm after her error and showed her searing pace to finish in the corner.

Rather than learning from losing control while putting the ball down with one hand, Kildunne again confidently placed it down in the same manner.

“People will want an explanation as to what happened – I just dropped the ball,” she added.

“It shows that we are just people and mistakes will happen, and we always talk about how quickly you can recover.

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“I brushed my shoulders off and just went again.”

Talling & Hunt set to miss rest of tournament

England, who have not lost a Six Nations game since 2018, are seeking an eighth consecutive title and a fifth Grand Slam in a row.

Prior to the tournament, Mitchell lost four of his matchday squad from the World Cup final to pregnancies.

Three of those – Zoe Stratford, Abbie Ward and Rosie Galligan – have all played in the second row under Mitchell.

Lock Morwenna Talling was carted off on a stretcher against Ireland, with Mitchell confirming that she and replacement scrum-half Natasha Hunt will likely miss the rest of the tournament through injury.

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Loughborough Lightning’s 19-year-old Haineala Lutui, who has mainly been deployed in the back row for her club, came off the bench to make her debut as Talling’s replacement.

“We must adapt, as we have lost four international locks – we will be a team of back rowers by the end of the tournament,” Mitchell said.

“If that is the way it is going to be, then so be it. There are different ways to play this game, and if that means using back rowers, then we will make it work.”

Megan Jones replaced Stratford as England captain and stepped up with a strong defensive performance, picking up the player of the match.

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“There were always going to be nerves coming into this campaign off the back of an amazing World Cup, so there was always going to be that expectation,” Jones told BBC Sport.

“We want to play in front of big crowds like that, and sometimes the game can get stuck, but we found ways through, and that is what a winning team does.

“Some nerves, but we will brush up on that.”

Mitchell made eight changes from the World Cup final starting XV, which resulted in a lack of cohesion at times as his side attempted to play an open and expansive brand of rugby.

Scrum-half Lucy Packer, who played second fiddle to Hunt during the World Cup, looked lively throughout, while 22-year-old lock Lilli Ives Campion also stepped up in the line-out.

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Fly-half Holly Aitchison was another player who struggled for starts at the World Cup but was handed the number 10 role from the outset.

“This is a new team, a fresh start and a learning process, and we have learned a lot today,” Mitchell told BBC Sport.

“Ireland were taken out of the match in the first half, but we let them back in, so we will learn from that.

“There is a huge amount of growth still to come – we are exposing youngsters and challenging the nine-ten axis.

“Players will be better for today’s performance.”

It will be interesting if Mitchell continues with his rotation policy or build cohesions, as England next face Scotland (13:30 BST) at Murrayfield next Saturday.