Women's
4th May 2023
England revelled in the thrill of yet another Six Nations triumph, got lost in their own Twickenham show and raised a glass to two of their oldest friends during a historic Championship.
England revelled in the thrill of yet another Six Nations triumph, got lost in their own Twickenham show and raised a glass to two of their oldest friends during a historic Championship.
Their latest crusade was one of their most impressive yet – five matches, five victories and a record-equalling number of tries scored.
Two icons of the women’s game, Sarah Hunter and Simon Middleton, both waved farewell to the Red Roses, with both fittingly receiving their own swansong.
There was much to admire elsewhere too – runners-up France showed a reminder of their class, Wales played some of their best rugby yet and Scotland battled to two emotional victories.
This is the story of how a magical edition of the Championship unfolded.
Round 1
It all started with an unexpected goodbye as Sarah Hunter called time on her distinguished career at Kingston Park.
Hunter had initially been named as one of England’s co-captains alongside Marlie Packer but chose to bow out in her hometown, where tears and tributes arrived in equal measure.
England rugby’s most-capped international left the field in the 57th minute against Scotland, by which point the hosts were already well on the way to a 58-7 victory.
Claudia MacDonald crossed first on eight minutes and Simon Middleton’s side were irresistible from there, running in five first-half tries with another from MacDonald, two from Amy co*kayne and Tatyana Heard also on the board.
A second-half hat-trick from Marlie Packer could have upstaged England’s departing heroine were it anyone else but Hunter, who left the stage to ear-splitting roars in Newcastle.
Wales too started in style, with a statement 31-5 victory over Ireland. Sisilia Tuipulotu stole the show on her second Championship start, with the young prop the poster girl of this new and improved Welsh outfit.
France then rounded off the weekend with a hard-fought 22-12 win in sodden conditions in Parma as Caroline Boujard ended Italy’s resistance.
Round 2
Abby Dow was the toast of Franklin’s Gardens in Round 2, crossing four times as England ran in 12 tries to sink Italy and continue their dominant start.
Full-back Dow delivered a perfect performance as the Red Roses extended their record winning run in the Championship to 21 matches with a 68-5 triumph.
A try from Sara Tounesi cancelled out Jess Breach’s early score but England were firmly in control at the break thanks to another score from Breach and a brace from MacDonald.
Middleton’s side really turned it on in the second period, as Holly Aitchison stamped her mark on the 10 shirt and prop Sarah Bern wreaked havoc, making 138 metres from 14 carries.
Dow claimed three further scores in the second half and Breach too completed her hat-trick while Packer and Heard added to their tries from the opening day.
For the second year running, Wales joined England on the maximum 10 points, but this was a more convincing start to their campaign.
Ffion Lewis sealed their 34-22 victory in Edinburgh, scoring the clinching score in the dying embers, a year on from crossing for the winning try against the same opponents.
On the road for the second weekend running, France made no mistake against Ireland, powering to a 53-3 victory in Cork despite playing an hour with 14 players.
Round 3
Leading 3-0 until the 26th minute against England, it appeared that Wales may have been on for a shock Triple Crown in front of a record crowd at Cardiff Arms Park in the Round 3 opener.
But the defending champions hit their straps after half time and ran in nine tries from nine different scorers to dent Welsh dreams in the capital.
Keira Bevan’s penalty had Wales in front but three of England’s standout stars – Packer, Heard and Dow – crossed the whitewash before half time to put England 19-3 ahead.
Aitchison then scored her first try from fly-half before Breach, Ellie Kildunne, Maud Muir, Hannah Botterman and Sarah Beckett all scored to complete a comprehensive victory and leave just two teams in the hunt for a Grand Slam.
Challengers France registered the first shutout of the 2023 Championship in their first game on home soil, with Emilie Boulard’s hat-trick inspiring Les Bleues to a 55-0 victory over Scotland.
The full-back dotted down on three occasions across a blistering 19-minute second-half spell as France pulled clear of their dogged opponents.
The weekend’s final game saw Italy secure their first win of the campaign, seeing off Ireland 24-7 as Alyssa D’Inca scored her first TikTok Women’s Six Nations tries.
Round 4
Musgrave Park was the next destination on England’s road to a clean sweep and while short of their best, they ran in eight tries for a 48-0 success against improved Ireland.
Beckett scored after a minute at the start of what looked like a tough afternoon for Greg McWilliams’ side, but they held their own and frustrated England for large periods.
Heard, Kildunne and Packer were all on the scoresheet before the break, as was Morwenna Talling with her first touch on return from injury.
But it was far from a perfect day for England, with prop Botterman and captain Packer both leaving the field prematurely to leave boss Middleton with fresh concerns ahead of the Twickenham showdown with France.
It took until the 70th minute for England to score in the second half but they grabbed three tries in the closing stages as an Amber Reed try and a double from Alex Matthews added an extra sheen to the scoreline.
France ensured they would also head to HQ unbeaten, seeing off Wales 39-14 in Grenoble.
Mélissande Llorens scored twice while Romane Ménager, Gaëlle Hermet, Charlotte Escudero and Rose Bernadou also crossed on Jessy Trémoulière’s final outing on home soil.
Wales responded well to being 34-0 down, with tries from Georgia Evans and Gwenllian Pyrs a deserved reward for their fightback, but it was not enough for Ioan Cunningham’s side.
Scotland were the other winners in Round 4, ending a run of 12 successive defeats to beat Italy at the DAM Health Stadium, with Lana Skeldon and Leah Bartlett both grabbing doubles.
Round 5
Super Saturday kicked off in sun-drenched south-west London as the Red Roses sealed the Slam in front of a record Twickenham crowd on a landmark day for the sport.
England started nervously against France before Dow scored to bring the 58,498 supporters in attendance to their feet, kickstarting a scintillating 25-minute spell.
Four more first-half tries followed to give England what proved to be an unassailable lead. Packer powered over in trademark fashion before Matthews and vice-captain Zoe Aldcroft dotted down either side of a penalty try.
France fought back after the interval as a few England fans glanced nervously at their watches as the final whistle approached.
Boulard started the French revival and further scores from Gabrielle Vernier, Charlotte Escudero, Emeline Gros and Cyrielle Banet saw Gaëlle Mignot’s side narrow the gap to just five points by the time the final whistle arrived, with Lark Davies’ second-half score the difference between the sides.
Captain Marlie Packer then hoisted the newly designed trophy aloft as England celebrated a 12th win in a row against France, a 100th victory in the Championship and a sixth title for the departing Middleton.
That set the tone for an entertaining final day which saw the last two matches end in 36-10 victories.
Wales were next to celebrate, securing back-to-back top three finishes for the first since 2009 in Parma.
Italy’s Veronica Madia cancelled out Bethan Lewis’ opener but it was one-way traffic after the break, with Tuipulotu, Sioned Harries, Alex Callender and the fit-again Kerin Lake helping Wales to a comfortable away victory.
Scotland then brought the party to a close, with a victory over Ireland in Edinburgh which lifted them to fourth.
The hosts edged a low-scoring first half thanks to Player of the Match Meryl Smith’s try and excelled after the break, with Leah Bartlett, Rachel Malcolm, Chloe Rollie and Francesca McGhie all crossing.
But the overwhelming winners both in Round 5 and throughout the Championship were England, who have already set their sights on a World Cup triumph at a sold-out Twickenham in 2025.
