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Defending their 2029 Rugby World Cup title starts with the foundation laid in this Women’s Six Nations, where England won their eighth consecutive championship while stretching their squad to its limits. The world champions proved they can succeed even with significant personnel changes.

Head coach John Mitchell had planned to blood new talent, but not to the extent forced by injuries. The team expected retirements and pregnancies among key players, but the volume of injuries—including stars Hannah Botterman, Alex Matthews, and Morwenna Talling missing all or most of the tournament—was unforeseen. Others like Sadia Kabeya and Maddie Feaunati missed occasional matches.

Coaching staff had to “play Tetris” to fill gaps. Fourth-choice loosehead prop Liz Crake was on the bench for the decisive match, and lock pairings shifted repeatedly. Full-back Ellie Kildunne said this Six Nations felt like a fresh start, not a sequel to the 2025 World Cup.

“There has been a lot of change,” the 26-year-old said. “This feels like the start of something new. We want to be a team that wins back-to-back World Cups as well. You can’t really rest on all of the successes that have happened before because every time you play you go back to zero. We have got to keep on seeing it like that.”

“We weren’t perfect throughout this Six Nations but we still won it. I see that as excitement, as a group we have standards. When you are at the top you are always wanting more, wanting to be better and I think that is what makes us so brilliant. We will never be comfortable with winning however many grand slams or winning World Cups. We always want more. We always want better. We will keep pushing this team to heights that it has never been before.”

England’s dominance appears sustainable: they have more than 10 players returning from injury, with competition for places heightened by new caps like Demelza Short, Millie David, and Haineala Lutui during the Six Nations. While the next World Cup is three years away, England’s performance makes them early favorites.

Mitchell said: “It was fantastic to win a World Cup at home and we will never forget that. We are in a new cycle. No English team, men’s or women’s, has gone back-to-back after the World Cup and a grand slam. Not that we are driven by outcome but we wanted to be really intentional around winning on winning because in four years’ time we want to do that same thing. We are in a really good place and today is the first step in being intentional about what we want to do [at the next World Cup].”

Debate continues whether the Red Roses’ dominance harms the game, but Sunday’s match against France was a highly competitive contest. Had France capitalized on early attacking momentum, they might have won. England found a way again, but the tournament continues growing: this year saw record attendances across Scotland, Ireland, Italy, and England, with all home nations playing at main stadiums for the first time in a single tournament.

Scotland drew 30,498 for their match against England, while Ireland’s record 31,294 for a match against Scotland was arguably more impressive given the Red Roses typically draw large crowds. Television viewership is rising. Ireland back-row Aoife Wafer highlighted growing ambitions after her side’s emphatic round-five victory.

“To be out here in front of 32,000 people is my wildest dream come true,” Wafer said, referencing a crowd that broke the Irish women’s rugby attendance record by 240%. “See you all here next year.”

Next up: the Barbarians face Wales in June, then WXV series starts in September. Canada, New Zealand, and Australia will travel north to face Six Nations sides, aiming to end England’s 38-game winning streak.

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“summary”: “England Women’s Rugby wins eighth straight Six Nations title while dealing with injuries, developing depth, and setting sights on back-to-back World Cup glory in 2029.”
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