Comment: England remain the standard bearers after fifth successive Six Nations Grand Slam and Ellie Kildunne’s chilling warning suggests there is more to come
England celebrate eighth straight Women's Six Nations title success.
Ellie Kildunne issued a chilling warning to the rugby world after her player of the match performance won England a fifth successive Six Nations Grand Slam and an eighth title in a row.
The Red Roses full-back had just scored two tries to help her side become the first England team of either sex to capture a Six Nations the year after winning a World Cup.
She had run for 155 metres on 14 carries as England racked up their 38th consecutive victory to land a tournament in which they were required to field 32 players due to injuries and pregnancy.
And she again left France cursing her, eight months after another two-try masterclass denied the same opponents a place in the World Cup final.
More to come
Yet rather than suggest England had run out of mountains to climb the 26-year old Harlequin indicated they were still only at base camp.
“We’ve got lots to learn,” Kildunne declared. “I think that’s the most exciting thing. We’ve won a Grand Slam, we’ve won all the games, but there’s still so much more room we can grow. I’m excited for next season.”
This is not what the rest of the sport wants to hear after England’s 99th win in 103 matches since they last lost on home turf a decade ago. Neutrals had hoped this would be the day of change.
France were unbeaten and had a full house roaring them on, including local hero Matthieu Jalibert. England had conceded nine tries in their past two outings. If not now, then when?
That question hung in the air last night, with no answer to be found, as the magnificent Meg Jones collected the trophy, then paid tribute to her team.
“This group is so resilient, we’ve faced so much adversity, I’m so proud of them,” she told the BBC. “We went through the trenches there. Everyone was doubting our defence. We showed up. We fronted up. We showed what England’s about.”
John Mitchell, England’s head coach, agreed: “It was great to win a World Cup at home, but what we’ve navigated through this tournament, with all our mates sitting at home becoming mums and going through rehab…
“These girls are just so brave. So driven. They live their values right to the end. They’re courageous all the time. I take my hat off to them.”
Anyone who had paid attention to France’s campaign knew they grow into games. Against Italy, Wales and Ireland they took time to assert themselves, before coming to life after half-time.
They realised they could not feel their way into the contest this time. Not with the quality of opposition. They understand that to derail England’s chariot would require shock and awe.
So France gave it both barrels, bringing such ferocity from the off the world champions were literally knocked out of their stride. Double tackles were the order of the first quarter, England clung on for dear life.
When France stripped Mackenzie Carson on 14 minutes and went the length for Pauline Bourdon-Sansus to score it seemed anything was possible for Manae Feleu’s pumped up team.
It was a sensational score, a 95-metre classic made by the pace, ambition and vision of wing Lea Murie and number eight Lea Champon. England, who had conceded all the penalties at that stage, had backs firmly to the wall.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
They did not panic. Mitchell had acknowledged beforehand that England’s defence had not been the greatest in this tournament but warned they were ready to up their scoring output to compensate.
So it proved as just when France appeared to have the tournament at their mercy they were knocked off course by a white tornado: four unanswered tries in a second quarter that won the game for the visitors.
Sarah Bern went first, after Sadia Kabeya was twice stopped on the line. Then Kildunne, after Madoussou Fall spilled and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald and Jones hacked the loose ball on.
France could not stop the bleeding. Jess Breach bagged the first of her brace, again from a Moloney-MacDonald assist, before Kildunne added her second after Maddie Feaunati punched a hole and Helena Rowland and Zoe Harrison expertly fired the ball to the edge.
From seven points down England led 26-7, a scoreline amplified by goal kicker Harrison’s unerring accuracy. Think Jonny Wilkinson and you’ll get the idea.
France fightback
To their credit France rallied. Anais Grando atoned for knocking on with the line at her mercy to score five minutes later, then Bourdon-Sansus sniped her way over from a five-metre scrum.
Again England kept their heads. Mitchell sent Marlie Packer on and from the next scrum, Harrison and Kildunne worked Breach over in the corner for the 57th try of her career.
If the game was not won there and then, it was moments later with France’s bizarre decision to sub off their totem, the excellent Bourdon-Sansus. Her replacement, Alexandra Chambon, lasted four minutes before being sin-binned for a high tackle.
As France scrambled to regroup, Packer and Amy Cokayne applied the coup de grace, perfectly executing a training ground move to put the hooker over on the short side.
The try ensured Rose Bernadou’s late response was no more than a consolation. It also killed any flickering hope of a changing of the guard. England remain the standard bearers. Goodness knows now when that will change.
READ MORE: Maverick fly-halves included in ultimate 21st century XV while World Cup-winning stars miss out
