John Mitchell backs England to hit new level in Grand Slam decider against France
John Mitchell has backed his England side to “dial it up again” when they take on France in Saturday’s Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam decider in Bordeaux.
The Red Roses have enjoyed a near perfect tournament, having romped to big scorelines with their newfound attacking intuition after heeding head coach Mitchell’s call to “play on the edge”.
France, ranked third in the world, will provide a much sterner test but face a serious task in ending their 12-match losing streak against England in a fixture that has historically gone down to the wire.
Eight of those encounters have been decided by a single score and while France will be buoyed by a near-capacity crowd at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, Mitchell believes his side can step up a gear in pursuit of a sixth consecutive title.
“We’ve got better as the tournament has progressed and who said there are limits on the style that we produced last weekend? We have the ability to dial it up again,” said Mitchell.
“It certainly won’t be stopping. It will continue to evolve. It’s challenged a lot of the girls in that area of capacity and is certainly challenging some of the girls who haven’t been able to train fully.
“They fully understand where we’re heading, but this group sets such high standards that they will never be satisfied. We’ll always want to get better.”
Mitchell has thrown no major selection curveballs in his final match-day squad for the campaign but has given the nod to Morwenna Talling over Abbie Ward in the second row following the Sale Sharks player’s fine individual display in his side’s 88-10 hammering of Ireland. Amy Cokayne also comes in for the injured Lark Atkin-Davies.
France almost stunned England at Twickenham last year when they came close to completing an incredible 33-point second-half comeback. Despite racking up 228 points in the championship while conceding just 20, Mitchell warned his team cannot rest on their laurels.
“We’ve been expecting an arm-wrestle for some time,” he said. “We’ve been wanting that, we’ve been asking for it, and we are certainly going to get it on the weekend. It’s going to give us really good feedback. It’s important to experience that so that’ll hold us in good stead because we can learn from it.”
Towering lock Madoussou Fall returns to the France pack this weekend having been used off the bench in the 40-0 thrashing of Wales last week. Romane Menager also moves back to her preferred role at No 8, having operated as blindside flanker in Cardiff, and her twin sister Marine is fit to start on the wing.
England: Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins); Abby Dow (Trailfinders), Megan Jones (Leicester Tigers), Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury), Jess Breach (Saracens); Holly Aitchison (Bristol Bears), Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury); Hannah Botterman (Bristol Bears), Amy Cokayne (Leicester Tigers), Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury), Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), Morwenna Talling (Sale Sharks), Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning), Marlie Packer (captain, Saracens), Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Replacements: Connie Powell (Harlequins), Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury), Kelsey Clifford (Saracens), Abbie Ward (Bristol Bears), Maddie Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs), Lucy Packer (Harlequins), Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning), Sydney Gregson (Saracens).
France: Emilie Boulard (Blagnac); Joanna Grisez (France Sevens); Nassira Konde (Stade Bordelais), Gabrielle Vernier (Blagnac); Marine Menager (Montpellier); Lina Queyroi (Blagnac), Pauline Bourdon Sansus (Toulouse); Annaelle Deshaye (Stade Bordelais), Agathe Sochat (Stade Bordelais), Assia Khalfaoui (Stade Bordelais), Manae Feleu (captain, Grenoble Amazones), Madoussou Fall (Stade Bordelais), Charlotte Escudero (Toulouse), Gaelle Hermet (Toulouse), Romane Menager (Montpellier).
Replacements: Elisa Riffonneau (Trailfinders), Ambre Mwayembe (Grenoble Amazones), Clara Joyeux (Blagnac), Emeline Gros (Grenoble Amazones), Teani Feleu (Grenoble Amazones), Alexandra Chambon (Grenoble Amazones), Anne-Cecile Ciofani (France Sevens), Chloe Jacquet (Lyon).
Analysis: Mitchell opts for consistency in France showdown
By Fiona Tomas
John Mitchell has dropped no major surprises ahead of his side’s crunch meeting with France. Given the colossal scorelines his side have put on other teams, England – and to a degree France – are the only nations who could feasibly swap personnel in and out and still win comfortably. Yet Mitchell has been reluctant to tinker with his side other than the times when his hand has been forced, either through injuries or player suspensions.
So Mitchell, unsurprisingly, has dealt many of the same cards again. Holly Aitchison and Natasha Hunt – a secondary half-back partnership during the Simon Middleton era – has been as sharp as they come. Tatyana Heard’s alliance with Meg Jones in the midfield has been electrifying and a real pillar of England’s attack. Emily Scarratt, for so long the cornerstone of the Red Roses’ midfield, once again has to be content with a place on the bench. With Heard in such sublime form, Scarratt faces a long road to dislodge her at inside centre.
Perhaps in a nod to the future, Morwenna Talling has been favoured over the experienced Abbie Ward in the second row. “She jumped to the call very late last weekend and performed outstandingly,” Mitchell said of the Sale Sharks forward, who leapt into action after Rosie Galligan dislocated her thumb in the warm-up at Twickenham. “She’s also physically in great shape and producing outputs to the standards we want.”
There is further misfortune, however, for Sarah Beckett, who hasn’t been able to force her way back into the match-day squad following the three-match ban she picked up after England’s opener against Italy.
In France, Mitchell is taking no risks. Consistency is clearly key.
