![]() In 2019, the Rugby Football Union introduced professional contracts for the first time which Middleton called a “massive opportunity” when they were awarded. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. For more information see our Privacy Policy. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. The 30-year-old has won two Six Nations titles, finished third in three World Cups and was named Women’s 15s player of the decade by World Rugby in 2020. France will also have extra motivation to get the trophy win with one of their stalwarts retiring – the fly-half Jessy Trémoulière starts at 10 for her last ever match. Les Bleues have conceded 29 points with only England conceding fewer. The Red Roses’ mistakes in the first half saw Wales score points first and they held England from scoring until the 26th minute.įrance could exploit the same weakness this weekend and if effective, England may not be able to rely on a rolling maul or an Abby Dow wonder try with France’s defence impressive in the tournament thus far. They have made 69 handling errors in the 2023 tournament so far and they were exploited against Wales. England’s biggest weakness, arguably, is their handling. England have also been handed a boost ahead of the match with their captain Marlie Packer, the prop Hannah Botterman and No 8 Poppy Cleall ruled fit.Īnd while England will be favourites to win their fifth successive Women’s Six Nations, France could upset the Twickenham party. The Red Roses have been on a 23-match Six Nations winning run since. England have generally had the upper hand of late, however – the last time France beat their old rivals was in the 2018 Women’s Six Nations, coming out 18-17 winners, and the loss was the last time England were defeated in the competition. England came out 13-7 winners the last time the teams met in October at the World Cup and the Red Roses defeated France 24-12 in last year’s Six Nations. The crowd will be treated to a tight match if recent history is anything to go by. ![]() We want to make it a good event so it can happen again and again in the future.” It is the adrenaline it will bring and obviously most of the crowd will be behind England so I think that is something we really have to take confidence in and put on a good performance because that is what they are coming to see. ![]() “I think my heart is going to be absolutely pumping. For them to think we would sell that amount of tickets, even though we have gone over the amount they thought they would sell, it’s just amazing. Middleton – for whom a 53,000 attendance must have seemed unimaginable when he took the job in 2015 – has said the number of tickets sold has exceeded expectation and England’s vice-captain Zoe Aldcroft told the Guardian: “It shows how much the game has come on, to have a standalone match at Twickenham. The Twickenham crowd figure will hopefully act as a springboard for more avenues of progress and it will be a boost to the hopes of the Rugby Football Union who want to sell out Twickenham for the World Cup final in 2025. To more than double the record shows the progress not only the tournament is making, but the entire sport.
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