England Women's Dominance of 6 Nations
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Saturday saw the England Women’s team lift the 2019-20 trophy after comprehensive 54-0 drubbing of Italy at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.
It was a predictable result as England had powered through the previous four rounds unbeaten, their smallest margin of victory being six points in Round 1 (against the French) while the managed to put over fifty points on Scotland and Wales in Rounds 2 and 4 respectively.
The victory further emphasised England’s dominance in this particular competition as it marked their 16th title in 25 years of the tournament’s existence – a remarkable achievement.
“We didn’t quite know what was going to happen with this being the first hit out, but the girls have been playing some really good rugby at the weekends,” said captain Emily Scarratt after her side’s victory in Parma.
“It was really important that we came here and finished the job, we knew what we wanted to do and it was just a case of doing it tonight.
“It wasn’t always pretty, it probably wasn’t always totally box office, but we’re really glad to get the job done.”
To put England’s accomplishment in context, the country with the second highest number of titles is France, with 6.
While jubilant with regard to his team’s work on the field, England head coach Simon Middleton would like to see some stiffer competition within the Six Nations.
"It is challenging for us,” he said. “It would be absolutely fantastic if every union could do what we're doing. We have made a real statement about where we see the women's game.
"It is a priority for us as an organisation. We would love to be able to have a Saturday when you have got three teams going for the title and you are staying up late. It was brilliant."
While everyone starts from a clean slate next season, it is difficult to picture this current England team falling short of another title after the way they bossed the tournament. Time will tell.
