“That was ideal for us,” John Mitchell reflected, about as content as any coach can be when their side have threatened to throw away a game they had led 31-7 after just 24 minutes. It was Twickenham in April and the England head coach, perhaps after a deep exhale of relief, was taking the positives from a 43-42 thriller where France had roared back to within a point of spoiling the Red Roses party. In the process, they had revealed flaws seldom so strikingly seen in a dominant side, glitches in the relentless winning machine; for only the second time in Mitchell’s tenure, England looked truly vulnerable.
So why, then, was the Red Roses head coach so upbeat? Well, Mitchell’s comments were made very much with this week in mind. It was always a virtual certainty that England would cruise through to the semi-final stage, a side beaten once in 62 outings not likely to slip-up even with the stakes and scrutiny raised, but come the crunch – or Le Crunch, as this fixture is known – the lessons learned in close combat are hoped to serve England better than anything gleamed from their more recent thrashings. There was almost an extra energy about Mitchell and captain Zoe Aldcroft on Thursday, a palpable sense of pleasure as the intensity ratchets up. It is for these weeks, and the next fortnight specifically, that England continue to drive standards internally.
“We love playing France,” Aldcroft beamed. “I think we’ve just concentrated on ourselves and we want to make sure we have had a good training week. It’s semi-final week so we know they’re going to come hard at us and we’re going to go hard back.”
The tournament has left us with a predictable final four – but only just. Where England’s safe passage has been plotted without undue stress, France found themselves deep in a hole they had partly dug themselves against Ireland in a wet, windy and wild quarter-final. Naïve is not too strong a word to use about parts of their performance, a failure to adapt to the conditions so very nearly costly. Had Manae Feleu’s high tackle or Axelle Berthoumieu’s bite been able to have been dealt with by the officials on the day rather than retrospectively, there might have been a green tinge to semi-final weekend; as it is, while France will feature in the final four the pair will not, both banned for the remainder of the tournament – and in Berthoumieu’s case, much more beyond.
Feleu’s suspension removes a high-quality lock and France’s lineout leader, but more importantly a co-captain, with wing Marine Menager taking sole skippership. Add in the absence of fly half Lina Queyroi, recovering from a concussion, and France will recognise they are up against it. Not that they were not already – they have never won a Women’s World Cup semi-final in eight attempts and, however much of a fright as France gave England earlier this year, it is now 16 straight wins for the Red Roses in what has become a one-sided rivalry. “Our aim is to throw a bit of sand in England’s machine,” joint head coach Gaelle Mignot said. “They’re the best team in the world, no doubt. But if we want to win this tournament, we’ll have to beat them at some point.”
France have made habit of raising their level for these meetings – and will surely look to foster a siege mentality of sorts. “They will be galvanised for sure with the two bans they have received and a little bit of HIA disruption,” England prop Hannah Botterman underlined. “We’re not sat here thinking this is going to be anything other than a proper Test. We have to go out there and be the best we can be or we don’t end up on the right side of the result.”
The recurrent criticism of England’s perceived reliance on their maul and scrum has resurfaced again this week, an overreaction of sorts to getting the job done in the only manner really available to them in pretty wretched conditions. There is no suggestion, though, that they will go away from trying to assert themselves through the set-piece; Mitchell has sought clarity from World Rugby and the match officials on why his side were not rewarded more for their scrum supremacy against Scotland.
The expectation, then, is that England will again try to tighten up and turn the screw if an iffy forecast is correct again. In Zoe Harrison, they have picked their best controlling fly half, though the Saracens’ statistics over the last two years in an attacking sense more than measure up to those of the expansive elements that Holly Aitchison would bring – since 2023 on a per-game basis, Harrison kicks less often, makes more line breaks and has nearly double the number of try involvements, even in a smaller (750 minutes to 1763) sample size.
“We have been really, really fortunate that Zoe has grown her game and is confident,” Mitchell explained, having also welcomed back full-back Ellie Kildunne. “From that point of view, it is really important she plays because she suits the way we are playing at the moment. We don’t have to be perfect in this tournament, we just need to be effective and she is very effective at the moment.” The experience of the spring will ensure England are far more ready for the possibility of a second-half fightback if France metamorphise again in their half-time cocoon; Mitchell has talked repeatedly since that grand slam game about the need for his side to show ruthlessness.
This is an important final week or so for a tournament that all recognise has burned slowly so far. On Thursday night, as they unveiled the reshaped WXV Global Series that will be crucial on sustaining the gains made during this tournament, World Rugby chiefs spoke of the need for a proper climax, a thrilling crescendo to make the mood music of positivity properly heard by the wider group of rugby consumers craving competition. In that sense, the volume is about to be turned up; can England handle the noise?
