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England Run Riot Against Wales to Maintain 100% Start
Another day, another emphatic victory for England.
The Red Roses spectacle swept into Bristol, drawing a record crowd for their third consecutive Six Nations match and creating a vibrant display of white jerseys, red cowgirl hats, and floral headwear. Crucially, the match was filled with tries.
Following their 12-try performance against Scotland at Murrayfield the previous week, England notched another 10 tries in a 62-24 victory over Wales. This result solidifies John Mitchell’s team’s position at the top of the table, with a perfect record from three matches.
Having secured their fifth consecutive Triple Crown, they remain on track to achieve a record-breaking eighth consecutive Women’s Six Nations title.
Despite the impressive statistics, attack coach Emily Scarratt told BBC Two that the atmosphere in the dressing room was somewhat “muted” after the game.
While England secured a comfortable victory, extending their unbeaten run to 36 Tests, it was not the overwhelming performance many anticipated. Wales, in Mitchell’s words, “surprised” them.
The visitors scored four tries, including two in the final 10 minutes as England’s focus waned, earning a valuable bonus point. They also twice exploited England’s vulnerabilities with their line-out routine.
England were occasionally guilty of poor discipline, conceding nine penalties, and displayed some sloppy handling. These areas will need improvement before they face title contenders France in round five.
“You’re always in a Test match when you play a team like Wales,” Scarratt stated. “I thought they really stepped up today and presented some unique challenges for us, which is great for our development.”
“We still accomplished a good job. There’s a slightly subdued feeling in the group, which is a positive sign when you achieve a score like that.”
While Wales offered some resistance, this was another routine victory for England, raising concerns that the Six Nations is becoming too predictable and their dominance may be detrimental to both themselves and the sport.
England Sweep Aside Wales to Continue Dominant Run
England have won 37 consecutive Six Nations matches, with their last defeat against France in 2018. They haven’t lost to another home nation since 2015, and Scotland and Italy have yet to defeat them in the six-team format.
During this period, they have averaged 53.4 points per match while conceding only nine, restricting teams to 10 points or fewer on 26 occasions. Only six of their victories have been by a margin of fewer than 20 points, all against France.
This year alone, they have scored 179 points, including 27 tries, and conceded 43, despite missing over a dozen players due to injury, pregnancy, or retirement, resulting in a “rusty” performance against Ireland and leaving points on the board against Wales.
Assuming France secure victories against Ireland and Scotland, and England achieve the expected one-sided win over Italy, Mitchell’s team will head to Bordeaux in round five for a fifth consecutive Grand Slam decider.
Even Les Bleues, England’s closest rivals with a series of second-place finishes and narrow defeats in 2023 (38-33) and 2025 (42-41), have only beaten them twice in the past 10 editions.
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Six Nations: Wales Showing Improvement Says England Coach Mitchell
The reason for this disparity is clear: England’s level of investment has placed other nations at a disadvantage.
They were the first of the six teams to introduce full-time professional contracts, doing so in 2019, two years after the restructuring of the domestic competition required clubs to meet various on- and off-field minimum standards to secure a franchise in the Premiership Women’s Rugby (formerly known as the Premier 15s).
Speaking in the Telegraph, external this week, captain Meg Jones challenged other unions to match their investment to provide her fellow players with the resources “they deserve.” Head coach Mitchell, meanwhile, is confident that “somebody will come and get us at some point.”
The question remains: when?
Speaking on BBC World Service’s More than the Score podcast, former Scotland captain Lisa Martin suggested it would be five years before another team, most likely France or Ireland, could defeat England for the title.
“The Six Nations is so intrinsically linked with rugby,” Martin said. “But if it becomes a recurring theme of ‘England will win it again and again,’ there’s no jeopardy, no competition in terms of match outcomes or tournament results.”
“How long will it maintain fan interest if they already know the outcome?”