Preview: Red Roses v France

28 Apr 2023 | 7 min |

Everything you need to know ahead of the Red Roses' Grand Slam showdown with France at Twickenham Stadium

The stage is set for what will be an historic day for the Red Roses, as they host France in their first-ever standalone fixture at Twickenham Stadium in front of a record-breaking crowd of over 50,000 fans.

Simon Middleton takes charge of his final game in charge of the Red Roses after announcing he would be leaving the position at the end of the tournament, having led the sides to five Six Nations titles, four of which were Grand Slams, and two World Cup finals during his tenure in the top job.

Both England and France head into the fixture with four wins in as many games, meaning that the winner of this final round game will lift the TikTok Women's Six Nations trophy as Grand Slam Champions.

When?	Saturday 29 April
Where?	Twickenham Stadium
Kick off?	13:00

Marlie Packer will captain the side with Sadia Kabeya and Alex Matthews lining up alongside in the back row. Vice captain Zoe Aldcroft will pack down alongside Sarah Beckett in the second row.

Hannah Botterman, Lark Davies and Sarah Bern make up the front row.

In the backs, Lucy Packer returns to the starting side at scrum half, while Holly Aitchison retains her position at fly half. Helena Rowland is broguth into the 1st XV at outside centre, with Tatyana Heard on her inside.

The back three sees Ellie Kildunne named at full back, with Abby Dow starting on the right wing and Claudia MacDonald on the left.

Connie Powell, Lark Davies and Mackenzie Carson are the front row replacements on the bench, with Maud Muir and the returning Poppy Cleall also included in the 23. Natasha Hunt, Amber Reed and Jess Breach are also named as finishers.

VIEWS FROM CAMP

Marlie Packer: I was gutted to come off the pitch early last weekend and with the final weekend teed up to be what it is, there were a few things running through my head. But this week has been really positive, I had some downtime when we got home and it put everything into perspective. Coming back into camp I felt refreshed and it put us in a great place to kick on and get into the best place for the weekend.

It's going to be a very special occasion. It's been an iconic Six Nations and for me to lead the squad out for a Grand Slam decider is going to be epic...I can't wait. At the beginning of the week we sit down, speak about the previous game and look forward to the week ahead. We spoke as a group about how we want to play, and for us it's about not being emotionally driven. Naturally the emotion will be there because of the occasion it is.

We had the opportunity to train at Twickenham on Wednesday and for some of the girls, they've never had the opportunity before. It's a hugely special thing to not just play but to train at HQ, and we wanted to make sure everyone is prepared for what is coming on Saturday.

Simon Middleton It's such a massive game at the weekend and everyone is super focused. Myself and Scott [Deacon] are both coming to the end of a chapter in our lives and we're both very much of the same opinion that we are totally focused on the game ahead of us.

France are dangerous. It's going to be epic and they're playing a slightly different brand of rugby. Both teams are confident, both teams are in form and both teams have exceptional players so it's all set up.

We said at the start of the tournament that there are a few goals that we have going in. Obviously one of those is to win the Six Nations, but another is that we want to build a squad that can then kick on for 2025. That's about having talent and growing different sides of the game.

TEAMS

Red Roses

15. Ellie Kildunne, 14. Abby 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

Finishers

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

15. Emilie Boulard, 14. Cyrielle Banet, 13. Marine Menager, 12. Gabrielle Vernier, 11. Melissande Llorens, 10. Jessy Tremouliere, 9. Pauline Bourdon, 1. Yilana Brosseau, 2. Agathe Sochat, 3. Rose Bernadou, 4. Manae Feleu, 5. Audrey Forlani (C), 6. Axelle Berthoumieu, 7. Gaelle Hermet, 8. Charlotte Escudero

Replacements

16. Elisa Riffonneau, 17. Ambre Mwayembe, 18. Assia Khalfaoui, 19. Romane Menager, 20. Emeline Gros, 21. Alexadnra Chambon, 22. Carla Arbez, 23. Maelle Filopon

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

Last time out: 2021 Rugby World Cup (2022) | France 7-13 England

The most recent meeting between the two sides came during the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The Red Roses emerged 7-13 victors at the end of a tight contest, setting them up for a run of games that would ultimately see them reach the final of the tournament.

Emily Scarratt was the catalyst for all 13 of England's points at Northland Events Centre, Whangarei, scoring and converting her own try in the first half before slotting two penalties either side of half time.

Simon Middleton's side went on to beat South Africa to top Pool C, before triumphing over Australia and Canada to make the final, where they faced the Black Ferns - The game that set the record for the highest-attended women's rugby game in history (42,579).

2022: France 12 - 24 England

2021: France 15 - 17 England

2021: England 10 - 6 France

2020: England 25 - 23 France

STATS

England have won each of their last 23 games in the TikTok Women’s Six Nations, the longest such run by any team in the Championship and have conceded just seven points or fewer in 10 of their last 11 matches.

This game will mark Simon Middleton's final game in charge of the Red Roses. He has overseen 85 games across eight years as head coach , celebrating 76 wins during that time. The Red Roses have scored 3,411 points under his command, with a total of 537 tries.