England have won the 2023 Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam, after securing a triumphant 38-33 victory over France. England took a 33-0 lead at half-time, with France fighting back for a dramatic conclusion that will long be remembered at Twickenham Stadium.
This year’s deciding finale took place in front of a record-breaking crowd for a Women’s rugby match, as 58,498 fans packed themselves into the Home of English Rugby. England have now won their fifth consecutive Women’s Six Nations title, in a match which marked the end of England Head Coach Simon Middleton’s time in charge of the Red Roses.
Middleton spoke after the game, and marked the end of an era for the England Women’s side.
“It’s been a big one for change. With Sarah (Hunter) stepping down and retiring, what a career. We celebrated that a bit more last night, as we should. Then obviously myself, and (Attack Coach) Scotty Bemand, have decided to move on.”
“It’s been a brilliant day today, if you look at things, we couldn’t have wished for a better stage to go out on. But it’s not the end of the road, it’s just a part of the way along the road. And it needs, you’ve got to keep putting new energy into the group, and putting new ideas into the group. It’s been brilliant, the last nine or ten years, but it’s definitely the right decision everybody. You shouldn’t be afraid of change, but we’re going to see a lot of change.
“We’ve seen a lot of change in the Six Nations, and we’ll see a lot more going forward. They key bit is to make sure that we keep the energy in it, and we feed off what’s happened today. Because it’s been such a special moment, it’s been a privilege to be here really.”
France started strongly in ‘Le Crunch’, and had England pinned back on their own try-line on multiple occasions in the opening 15 minutes. The match’s opening quarter of an hour favoured France, yet ‘Les Bleus’ were unable to find their way onto the score-sheet. Valiant defence and crucial turnovers kept the score-line at a stalemate, with plaudits going to England prop Hannah Botterman, with a try-saving turnover.
England were soon able to find the opening, scoring a breakaway try against the run of play. Momentum swung for the Red Roses, after a stunning break from the returning Helena Rowland put France on the back-foot. The ball was then recycled, and captain Marlie Packer sent a miss-pass out wide to Abby Dow, with the winger igniting the afterburners to run in from the 10m line. An unfortunate missed conversion kept the score at 5-0, yet England began to play with an increased confidence.
The Red Roses were back in to score 10 minutes later, and it was again the captain who led from the front. Centre Tatyana Heard exploded through a gap, and executed a skilful offload to Marlie Packer. The back-rower held off the French tackle attempts, and charged in to score. No mistake from Rowland, as the centre’s conversion built a 12-0 lead.
Three England tries followed in the last 10 minutes of the first half, as England secured a bonus point in emphatic style. The French floodgates opened as their fly half Jessy Tremouliere was sent to the sin-bin for a try-stopping deliberate knock on, with the veteran yellow carded in her final match for France. England immediately capitalised, as they opted for a scrum penalty, and Number Eight Alex Matthews powered over from the back to score.
There was brief disappointment for England, as Sarah Bern’s short drive to the try-line was held up just two minutes later. An outstanding tackle by Audrey Forlani was a slight saving grace for Les Bleus, yet the Red Roses were back over for seven more points just minutes later.
Scrum half Lucy Packer thought she had her Twickenham try, yet was illegally halted on her short pick and drive effort. French prop Rose Bernadou was sent to the sin-bin, after she tackled Packer from an offside position. The penalty try stretched England’s dominance to 26-0, as France dropped to 13 players.
The closing move of the first half saw England’s two locks link up well for the fifth first half score. Sarah Beckett showed great agility to work through a gap, and neatly sold a dummy pass to break into the back-field. She was halted, but her offload to Vice Captain Zoe Aldcroft kept the ball alive, as the 2021 Women’s Player of the Year cruised in to score. Rowland’s conversion sent the sides departing, with a landslide 33-0 score-line demonstrating England’s first half success.
The second half painted an entirely different picture, as France fought back for the full 40 minutes for a nail-biting finale. The record-breaking crowd all thought that it was an impossible feat, but France came within five points of the Red Roses at the final whistle.
France began their fight just eight minutes into the second half, with Jessy Tremouliere’s presence felt on her return from the sin bin. The fly half sent a miss-pass out wide to fullback Emiliue Boulard, who scored in the far left corner. The extras were added with a well struck conversion, and slight murmurings of ‘comeback could be on here’ began to ripple amongst the crowd.
Les Bleus followed this up with a try seven minutes later, as centre Gabrielle Vernier skipped around Lucy Packer at the edge of a ruck. This snipe from open play put Vernier clean through to run in from England’s 22m line, as Twickenham Stadium began to hold their breath. Red Roses fans were able to relax slightly, as their side resorted to tried and tested techniques to swing momentum back in their favour.
Hooker Lark Davis threw, re-gathered and drove the ball over the line to ground for a powerful England rolling maul. However France would not roll over, and were back down to score just just moments after conceding. Les Blues showed unprecedented determination to stay in the fight, and replacement Emeline Gros’ try narrowed the gap 38-26 with five minutes left to play.
The final play of the match saw France score their fifth try, yet it was too little too late for ‘Les Bleus’. Right winger Cyrielle Banet finished off this unforgettable encounter, as France reacted first to a late penalty, and took a quick tap to score in the corner. After Jessy Tremouliere’s conversion saw her give her final contribution for her country, England rejoiced as they were crowned Grand Slam Champions for the 2023 Women’s Six Nations.
England Captain Marlie Packer spoke after the match, about how much the record breaking crowd meant to her, and the unbelievable moment of scoring a try in the Grand Slam decider.
“As a person and as a Red Rose, I want to sell out Twickenham, I believe we can do it and I believe we can do it before 2025 and the Rugby World Cup final. Look at today, 50,000 people and we weren’t no curtain raiser, it was all about us!
“It was pretty epic not going to lie, that situation (Packer’s try). And it wasn’t a driving maul, so I was even more happy! Look, you can tell when the big occasions happened, (such as) Botts (Hannah Botterman) turning over the ball, and everyone that scored, it meant everything to them today.
“Everything was heightened today. The crowd, it’s a Grand Slam decider, the small wins were really celebrated, and it was so good to see the squad do that. I think for scoring the try, and the whole day has been a ‘pinch yourself’ moment. For me, having my son here and scoring a try like I did, was the icing on the cake.”
ENGLAND: 38
TRIES: 6 (Dow 16′, Packer 26′, Matthews 32′, Penalty Try 36′, Aldcroft 40′, Davies 59′)
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Rowland 26′, 32′ 40′)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
15. Ellie Kildunne 14. Abbty Dow 13. Helena Rowland 12. Tatyana Heard 11. Claudia MacDonald 10. Holly Aitchison 9. Lucy Packer 1. Hannah Botterman 2. Lark Davies 3. Sarah Bern 4. Zoe Aldcroft (VC) 5. Sarah Beckett 6. Sadia Kabeya 7. Marlie Packer (C) 8. Alex Matthews
16. Connie Powell 17. Mackenzie Carson 18. Maud Muir 19. Poppy Cleall 20. Morwenna Talling 21. Natasha Hunt 22. Amber Reed 23. Jess Breach
FRANCE: 33
TRIES: 5 (Boulard 48′, Vernier 55′, Escudero 66′, Gros 76′ , Banet 80′ )
CONVERSIONS: 4 (Tremouliere 48′, 55′, 66′, 80)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 2 (Tremouliere 30′, Bernadou 36′)
RED CARDS: 0
15. Emilie Boulard 14. Cyrielle Banet 13. Marine Menager 12. Gabrielle Vernier 11. Melissande Llorens 10. Jessy Tremouliere 9. Pauline Bourdon 1. Yllana Brosseau 2. Agathe Sochat 3. Rose Bernadou 4. Manae Feleu 5. Audrfey Forlani (C) 6. Axelle Berthoumieu 7. Gaelle Hermet 8. Charlotte Escudero
16. Elisa Riffonneau 17. Ambre Mwayembe 18. Assia Khalfaoui 19. Romane Menager 20. Emeline Gros 21. Alexandra Chambon 22. Carla Arbez 23. Maelle Filopon