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RNZ News
5 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Rugby: All-conquering England women's team embracing their 'aura'
Sarah Beckett, Zoe Aldcroft, and Sarah Bern of England celebrate becoming Six Nations Champions. Photo: ©INPHO/Juan Gasparini, ©INPHO/Juan Gasparini England women's coach, New Zealander John Mitchell, said his team will be driven by their own, internal standards rather than outside expectations as they enter their home Rugby World Cup on a remarkable run of form that has made them odds-on favourites. Since 2019 England have won an incredible 55 of their 56 games, but the one defeat still burns as it came in the last World Cup in 2022 when New Zealand snatched a late lineout, and with it victory, on home soil. Since then the Red Roses have had several wins over the Black Ferns, as well as routinely brushing aside all-comers in Europe, but anything but victory in the 27 September final at Twickenham will render their latest 25-game winning streak another footnote of frustration. Former All Blacks coach Mitchell, who took over in 2023, insists, however, that "external noise" will have no impact on the squad he named on Friday. "In my time with the Red Roses we have set a standard and it's a standard they look to remain consistent with, something that they're attracted to," he told reporters at Twickenham. "We are looking at the ability to be successful with opportunity and stay away from the risk of failure and talking about those sorts of things. We're a different team from 2022 and now we've got an opportunity to earn the right and finish something that we started." John Mitchell. Photo: Photosport Mitchell said the experience and positional cover in the squad is deeper than ever before, which is likely to be vital with the usual collection of injuries, concussions and suspensions a modern World Cup tends to throw up. "I think that depth is going to allow us to deal with the challenges but I think the stuff that drives us the most is our competition within," he said. "Some people tend to frame "pressure" as a negative word whereas I see this as an opportunity to be successful. "Some of the wins we've had in this cycle have been really tough as well, so there's enough belief and there's been enough feedback of where our game needs to improve. "Our focus is only on our first match against the US and the girls are living those values. There's a nice look in their eyes at the moment as well." Zoe Aldcroft, appointed as captain this year, is desperate to put the ghosts of 2022 behind her having gone off injured 27 minutes into the final and has also embraced England's dominant position in the sport. "We have built this expectation around us and I think that's a massive privilege that we've worked hard to hold that aura around us," she said. "As we go into the tournament, we've got such a strong bubble that we kind of want to keep it in with us. "We know in our circle that we're doing our absolute best to try to push and as long as we've got each other's backs in that circle, I think that's going to be the most important thing." Zoe Aldcroft. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Another player ready to unleash herself in the tournament is back rower Abi Burton, a double Olympian in Sevens but whose career appeared over when she spent more than 10 weeks in hospital with an auto-immune disease in 2022, including 28 days in a coma, having initially been sectioned after being wrongly diagnosed as psychotic. "I knew in my heart that I would get here at some point, though I didn't know how long it would take me to be able to break in, especially after my illness," said Burton, who made her England XVs debut in this year's Six Nations and goes into the World Cup with two caps to her name. "Mum and dad are super proud but they don't base their pride on how I do at rugby. They're more proud that I finished university after my illness. They're just happy that I'm alive and I'm functioning well and I can live on my own." - Reuters
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Thursday night blockbuster to start 2026 Six Nations
Ireland will travel to defending champions France in the first-ever Thursday night fixture in Six Nations' history when the 2026 tournament begins on 5 and France have won the last four titles between them and their blockbuster 20:10 GMT encounter has been brought forward to avoid a clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan the following shift is designed to maximise audiences in France. The finale of last year's tournament, when France beat Scotland to secure the title, returned record Six Nations audiences in France with 9.5m people (a 46% share of viewers) watching live on France2., externalThe 2026 tournament recorded a 6.3% increase in audience in domestic markets has also been confirmed there will be only one rest weekend, rather than the previous two, in the 2026 tournament. 2026 Six Nations fixtures in full (all times GMT) Round 1France v Ireland - Thursday 5 February (20:10)Italy v Scotland - Saturday 7 February (14:10)England v Wales - Saturday 7 February (16:40)Round 2Ireland v Italy - Saturday 14 February (14:10)Scotland v England - Saturday 14 February (16:40)Wales v France - Sunday 15 Feburary (15:10)Round 3 England v Ireland - Saturday 21 February (14:10)Wales v Scotland - Saturday 21 February (16:40)France v Italy - Sunday 22 February (15:10)Round 4Ireland v Wales - Friday 6 March (20:10)Scotland v France - Saturday 7 March (14:10)Italy v England - Saturday 7 March (16:40)Round 5 Ireland v Scotland - Saturday 14 March (14:10)Wales v Italy - Saturday 14 March (16:40)France v England - Saturday 14 March (20:10) The opening three rounds of matches will be played in successive weeks, with the weekend of 28 February and 1 March left final two rounds will follow on successive weekends, ending in a 'Super Saturday' of back-to-back fixtures with France hosting England in the final match. It is hoped the shorter length of the tournament will allow it to gather more momentum, with narratives holding the public attention more the third round of fixtures would have been sandwiched between two rest France take on Ireland, the rest of the opening round of fixtures sees Scotland travel to Italy on Saturday, 7 February (14:10 GMT) and England host Wales on the same day (16:40 GMT).France are still to confirm the venues for their French Rugby Federation said in December it had not yet received a satisfactory proposal to stay at the Stade de France, their usual Paris added it was considering "the various opportunities available" played in Marseille, Lille and Lyon in the 2024 Six Nations while preparations for the Olympics in Paris meant the Stade de France was off three venues can hold more than 50,000, but none can match the 80,000 capacity and revenue generated by the Stade de France. Six Nations organisers have also confirmed that the 2026 women's tournament will kick off three weeks later than the 2025 edition, pushing it to an April start and May finish. The change is part of new and separate global calendar for the women's game. It means England's PWR season will conclude after mid-summer with the top flight having a rest weekend followed by two regular-season rounds, semi-finals and a 27 June final after the conclusion of the Women's Six Nations.
