The Red Roses suffered an agonising defeat as they lost out to New Zealand by just three points in the World Cup final on Saturday. The Black Ferns won 34 – 31 to lift the trophy and become champions for the sixth time in an action-packed game that showcased the absolute best of the women’s game.  Although they were playing in front of a huge home crowd at Auckland’s Eden Park, England looked unphased in the early stages of the game, putting the hosts under pressure and looking good in attack. A nice backs move off an early line-out saw wing Abby Dow get the ball out wide, and she p ..read more

The Red Roses faced their toughest test yet as they were pushed all the way by a physical Canadian side who came close to ending England’s unbeaten run and knocking them out of the World Cup. However, two tries from Abby Dow and one from Marlie Packer, plus eleven points from the boot of Emily Scarrattm saw the Red Roses beat Canada 26 – 19.  The Red Roses started brightly, defending well and then winning a turnover which allowed Zoe Harrison to boot the ball clear. With territorial advantage England put the pressure on Canada and were rewarded when a knock-on gave them a scrum.  The ..read more

England eased into the World Cup semi-finals with a 41 – 5 win over Australia in a game which saw both teams battle to overcome the foul weather which soaked the pitch and the players, and made simply catching the ball an increasingly difficult proposition.  The rain was at its worst in the early stages of the game, hammering down so hard that the pitch was soon waterlogged and players made a splash every time they went to ground.  In light of these conditions, England tried to keep it tight, kicking for field position and using their maul to advance down the field. Inevitably there ..read more

 The Red Roses finished the World Cup pool stages in style as they beat South Africa 75 – 0 on Sunday afternoon. There were hat tricks for Rosie Galligan and Connie Powell as England scored thirteen tries, and the win means they top their pool and go through to the quarter-finals, where they will face Australia.  The opening stages of the game saw South African No. 8 Aseza Hele bust through the English defence with a typically strong run, but when England won a penalty and kicked to the corner a couple of minutes later, things looked ominous for the South African defence.  Sure ..read more

 There’s a small child running up and down the street outside my flat, and I can only assume it’s because they’re so excited about the fact that the World Cup kicks off next Saturday that they can’t contain themselves.  Yes, that’s right, at long last the 2021 edition of the tournament to find the best women’s rugby team in the world is here! It may be a year late due to Covid, but now that the Kiwis have reopened their borders, eleven teams have flown to New Zealand to compete for the chance to be crowned world champions (plus the Black Ferns themselves, but they didn’t need to fly ..read more

With the World Cup in New Zealand less than two months away, the Red Roses have been training hard over the past few weeks and are set to play two warm-up games against the USA and Wales in September. The reigning Six Nations champions will travel to Exeter for their first game against the USA on 3rd September, before playing a newly professional Wales side in Bristol on the 14th. Head coach Simon Middleton has named a settled squad, the vast majority of whom featured in the 2022 Six Nations. Sarah Hunter continues as captain with Emily Scarratt as her deputy, and the inclusion of players like ..read more

The Red Roses have retained their Six Nations title for the fourth consecutive year as they were crowned Grand Slam Champions after a hard-fought win against rivals France in Bayonne. Two tries for Sarah Bern, and one for Abby Ward, along with Emily Scarratt’s impeccable performance off the kicking tee, saw England beat Les Bleues 24 – 12 and lift the Six Nations trophy once again. But the afternoon started badly for the Red Roses after an uncharacteristic knock-on from fly-half Zoe Harrison gave France a scrum just metres from their opponents’ line. They then conceded a free kick, which was q ..read more

The Red Roses certainly enjoyed la dolce vita on Sunday as they scored a dozen unanswered tries in a 74 – 0 win against Italy in Round 2 of the Six Nations. After beating Scotland 57 – 5 in the opening game last weekend, the Red Roses travelled to Parma to face an Italian team that had shown some attacking flair but ultimately come up short in a 39 – 6 defeat to France. Less than three minutes into the match England had their first try, winger Sarah McKenna dotting down out wide after a strong England maul dragged in Italian defenders. McKenna spotted the lack of Italians on the blindside, and ..read more

It was an unusually sunny afternoon in Edinburgh, where England kicked off their Six Nations campaign on Saturday with a big win over a Scotland side that pushed them harder than the 57 – 5 score-line suggests. On a high after battling through to qualify for the World Cup later this year, Scotland certainly looked up for the fight in the early stages, while the Red Roses seemed a little rusty; a few handling errors and miscommunications stymied their attack and handed possession back to the Scots. However, when they were awarded a penalty in the Scottish 22, scrum-half Leanne Infante wasted no ..read more

Now that the men’s Six Nations has drawn to a close, you may be wondering how you will fill your weekends without international rugby. Well, fret no more, because the women’s Six Nations kicks off this weekend, and thanks to the BBC you can watch every single game live!  The powers-that-be in World Rugby have decided to keep the women’s tournament separate from the men’s after last year’s Covid-enforced schedule changes meant they did not run concurrently on the same weekends. This means that the women will have a chance to grab the spotlight and showcase the women’s game without having t ..read more