England reigned supreme again in another season of Women’s Rugby as they clinched another silverware, impressing the thousands of fans following the Roses with Six Nations tickets.
John Mitchell’s success story continues as England boss ended in the Red Roses claiming a third consecutive Grand Slam triumph as they powered to a 42-21 win over France in front of 28,000 fans with Six Nations tickets in Bordeaux.
England’s work was all but done by half-time with a 35-14 lead, and the 43rd-minute sending-off of Assia Khalfaoui enabled a comfortable but low-scoring second half.
The table was finely poised, with both sides able to claim the accolade in the tournament’s final game, but England made sure there was no doubt with a dominant display that saw them hold a commanding 35-14 lead by half-time.
“Super proud of all the girls,” England captain Marlie Packer told BBC Sport after the match.
Gabrielle Vernier perked up the home crowd with a response in the form of a 17th-minute try. However, England restored their 14-point advantage through Megan Jones just seven minutes later.
Marine Menager kept France in touch by running over the line soon after. England later put any doubt of the Six Nations holder to bed with two tries in the final eight minutes, scored by Marlie Packer and the returning Amy Cokayne.
Assia Khalfaoui made France’s task of a second-half comeback infinitely trickier as she was dismissed with a straight red card three minutes after the break. The French prop saw her dangerous ruck clear-out upgraded to a red card by the match’s official bunker system.
Vernier threatened an unlikely France comeback with 10 minutes to go, but Matthews doubled her tally with a try eight minutes from time to make England emphatic title winners.
The victory in Bordeaux caps a phenomenal tournament for England, in which they scored 270 points and conceded just 41.
The 2024 trophy is England’s sixth consecutive title in head coach Mitchell’s first Six Nations in charge of the Red Roses. It is also their third straight Grand Slam win, extending their record winning streak to 29 games.
It is a great time to be an England rugby fan if you are a fan of the sport, and English fans with Six Nations tickets are finally getting their money worth watching the women in action.
The men’s team could also draw inspiration from this win to up their game next year.
Six Nations To be Free-to-Air?
A cross-party Senedd inquiry has concluded that Six Nations rugby matches should be added to a list of protected free-to-air live televised events.
It would mean that tournaments, like the FA Cup Final and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, would be prevented from going behind a paywall.
Culture and Sport committee chair Delyth Jewell, who led the review, said it was “essential” that the Six Nations “stays as accessible as possible”.
However, the inquiry was told that ruling out the pay TV option would be “devastating” for the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), which would “struggle to survive”.
A cross-party Senedd inquiry has concluded that six Nations rugby matches should be added to a list of protected free-to-air live televised events.
It would prevent tournaments, like the FA Cup Final and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, from being behind a paywall.
Culture and Sport committee chair Delyth Jewell, who led the review, said it was “essential” that the Six Nations “stays as accessible as possible”.
However, the inquiry was told that ruling out the pay TV option would be “devastating” for the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), which would “struggle to survive”.
In February, WRU chief executive Abi Tierney told the committee’s inquiry that putting live Six Nations coverage on the protected list could be devastating for rugby in Wales.
She said some £20m of the WRU’s annual revenue came from media rights, out of around £90m.
She said that is “not a small amount of our revenue,” and with less of it, “we would struggle to survive—so that’s why it’s devastating.”
Director of Rugby Nigel Walker said the WRU was not arguing the case for putting the Six Nations behind a paywall.
Decisions on media rights were a “balance” between the higher revenue that might be earned from pay TV firms and the lower “reach” in terms of the smaller audience for games that would result, he said.
But he added, “If you take that off the table, you take the tension and competition at the market”.
In a world where sports must nurture inclusion and connections, pushing for a free-to-air broadcasting option is appropriate.
While most individuals own pay TV, the current model brings in a selective level of discrimination, and the inquiry wants to put this beyond.
A final decision is yet to be reached.
Ireland Qualify for the World Cup
While Irish fans with Six Nations tickets will not celebrate their team holding the silverware, they will cherish their qualification for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025.
Having missed out on the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021, Ireland is celebrating their return to the game’s biggest stage after securing qualification for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 through a third-place finish in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations 2024.
Ireland’s best Women’s Six Nations performance in three years, a three-place improvement on last year’s finish, also ensured they’d play the best teams later this year in WXV 1 in Canada.
Scott Bemand’s side, who won WXV 3 in his first tournament in charge in Dubai last October, went into the final round of the Women’s Six Nations languishing in fifth place and needing to beat in-form Scotland while also hoping Wales could do them a favour against Italy in the first game of the day.
The win will lift Ireland above the USA in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings once they are officially updated, as long as the Women’s Eagles lose at home to Canada in the World Rugby Pacific Four Series opening match.
Ireland will now compete alongside Women’s Six Nations 2024 winners England and runners-up France at RWC 2025.
