England boss Shaun Wane insists England can only continue to improve after a side stacked with debutants thumped France 64-0 in a one-sided mid-season international in Warrington.
Captain George Williams was one of only three survivors from last year’s World Cup squad to feature as Wane rang the changes, with one eye on this autumn’s much tougher three-test series against Tonga.
England coasted into a 36-0 interval lead, but Wane revealed he still demanded plenty of improvements against opponents who were thoroughly outclassed in every department and scarcely managed to muster any attacking intent.
“I was quite harsh on them defensively at half-time, because I had an eye on how we were going to play against Tonga, and the improvements in the second half were probably the most satisfying thing for me,” said Wayne.
“We looked a lot stronger and what it said to me was that this is a really young team, with so many debutants, and with how well we’ve adapted it just shows how strong we are with World Cup players to come back.”
Williams and Ash Handley both helped themselves to hat-tricks, while Danny Walker scored twice and Jake Wardle, Kai Pearce-Paul and Harry Smith also crossed.
Smith added 18 points with the boot before Williams, who also produced the pivotal move in four of his side’s tries, kicked the last conversion to ensure the men’s result mirrored that of an equally one-sided women’s international earlier.
“I was really happy,” added Wayne. “There were certain things I wanted them to work on and they’ve delivered. It was outstanding and those 13 debutants are a credit to their Super League clubs and their chairmen.
“My talk before the game was about Tonga and how we can put a stamp on our position, so credit to the RFL for getting that series on. It is something for us to look forward to and conversations with players and clubs will be easier because of that.”
Adding specific praise for the influential Williams, taking on the captaincy role for the first time due to the absence of Sam Tomkins, Wane added: “How he’s spoken this week and how he’s developed as a leader, it’s great to see how he’s come on.”
Shell-shocked France boss Laurent Frayssinous called the result a “reality check” as he begins the daunting process of building a team capable of impressing when they host the next World Cup in 2025.
“It is a reality check about where we are – obviously the scoreboard is pretty tough and the dressing room is shattered, but it is where we are, and it is a learning curve for a few kids here,” he said.
“We’ll take our medicine and we’ll keep working and just make sure we handle the situation better next time. I was not expecting to lose by 60 – if I thought about it I would have stayed at home.
“I thought we had the respect of England and I don’t want England to judge us on that scoreboard tonight, because next time we will be better, I guarantee.”
George Williams and Ash Handley both helped themselves to hat-tricks as England scored 11 tries in an overwhelming 64-0 win over feeble France in Warrington.
Home favourite Williams marked his debut as captain with a dominant display, playing the crucial ball in all three of Handley’s efforts, while the Leeds winger returned the favour in a scintillating two-man show.
Danny Walker scored twice, while Jake Wardle, Kai Pearce-Paul and Harry Smith also crossed and Smith added 18 points with the boot, as Shaun Wane’s new-look side oozed potential ahead of a much tougher test against Tonga in the autumn.
Williams, Pearce-Paul and Jack Welsby were the only survivors from November’s World Cup semi-final heartbreak to feature in Wane’s 18-man squad as the England coach sets his sights firmly on the build-up to the 2025 World Cup in France.
Of his raft of debutants, Wigan duo Morgan Smithies and Ethan Havard also shone, but France, beaten 42-18 by England in the second round of the World Cup in November, were dreadful, singularly failing to threaten the England line and seldom mustering a move into their attacking half.
England took less than five minutes to get their assault under way when a neat kick by Williams, the lynchpin of Warrington’s remarkable Super League resurgence this season, sent Handley scampering over in the right corner.
Williams sparked the move that led to England’s second, spraying the ball out to Jake Wardle, who, showing no ill-effects from an earlier challenge from Paul Marcon that sent the pair spiralling through the advertising boards on to the concrete concourse, neatly switched inside to send Smith clear.
Smithies’ short pass sent Walker in for his first after 25 minutes, then Walker’s pinpoint 40-20 set up Welsby, reverting to his favoured full-back role in the absence of World Cup captain Sam Tomkins, to send Wardle over on the left.
Welsby proved pivotal once again five minutes before the break when he burst through the flat-footed French rearguard and sent the always-ready Williams over under the posts.
Williams’ looping ball out wide found Handley, who cut inside Marcon to touch down for his second, and the other side of the interval the Leeds man returned the favour by pouncing into space on the right flank and feeding Williams the simplest of opportunities.
As France wilted England stepped up the pace, Handley grasping a Williams kick in the corner then Pearce-Paul barging clear, again prompted by Williams carving open the opposing defence.
Williams completed his hat-trick after a break down the flank by Handley, then Walker went over for his second, Williams duly stepping up to take over kicking duties and wrap up a thoroughly convincing victory.
Marlie Packer believes England can sell out Twickenham before the 2025 World Cup final after the Grand Slam was completed in front of a crowd of 58,498.
France were edged 38-33 in a riveting Tik Tok Women’s Six Nations title decider that set a new record attendance for a women’s game, surpassing the previous highest of 42,579.
The Rugby Football Union has targeted a full house for the World Cup final when it hosts the tournament in two years’ time, but Packer believes that on the evidence of Saturday that goal could arrive earlier.
“For me as a Red Rose, I want to sell out Twickenham,” said England’s captain after the first standalone women’s match to be staged at Twickenham.
“I believe we can do it and I believe we can do it before 2025 for the World Cup final. Look at today – we weren’t a curtain raiser, it was all about us.
“The other nations are closing the gap and getting professional contracts, so the quality of the games is getting better and not just England v France games.
“Everything is on the rise so more tickets will be sold and more stadiums will sell out.”
While Packer sees the possibilities at Twickenham, the Saracens openside is keen for England to continue their policy of playing at Premiership grounds.
“When we take the Red Roses on the road, we get fans in from all over the country. We’re a brand and we want to keep selling our brand,” Packer said.
“Yes it would be great to play at Twickenham every time and that in itself will come in time, but we need to keep building our fanbase.”
England led 33-0 at half-time but France hit back with five tries in a tense finish.
“We had done enough in the first-half and we took our points in the second-half to finish off the game,” Packer said.
“But we’ll look back at this game to see what we need to work on in the second-half. We got the victory and that’s what we came here to do today.”
France captain Audrey Forlani admitted her side failed to do themselves justice as they slipped to a 33-0 interval deficit.
“In the first-half, that is not a true reflection of our team,” Forlani said.
“If you look at the second-half, that is our real team. We need to keep working and keep that second half in mind.”
England women’s head coach Stuart Barrow expressed surprise at his side’s thumping 64-0 win over France in their mid-season international in Warrington.
Leah Burke crossed four times and Tara-Jane Stanley touched down and also kicked 16 points with the boot as Barrow’s team ran in 12 tries to start his reign in style.
England had beaten the French 36-10 at the same venue in a World Cup warm-up last June and Barrow believes the clinical manner of their performance offers plenty of encouragement for the future.
“I don’t think we came here today expecting that kind of result,” said Barrow. “We had a process and the players executed it really well, but as always there were things we can still improve upon.”
England currently have no further fixtures planned, and conjuring quality northern hemisphere opposition remains a problem, with Wales or France again the extent of their realistic options for a prospective autumn international.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t think we could bridge the gap (to Australia and New Zealand) and obviously having more competitive matches is going to help with that,” added Barrow.
“We’ve got a really good group of players and an increasing number of young players knocking on the door.”
St Helens star Burke said she relished the opportunity to put an England shirt back on for the first time since the disappointing World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand in November.
And with team-mates Georgia Roche and Hollie-Mae Dodd having recently become the first English players to land professional deals in Australia’s NRLW, Burke believes the domestic game is on the brink of a bright new era.
“It was tough losing to New Zealand because deep down we knew we could beat them, but we took some time away and I think the way we played today showed how hard we’ve been working,” added Burke.
“The women’s game is growing massively all the time and there are no backward steps. It just keeps pushing forward and the size of the crowd today was a reflection on where we are.”
Leah Burke scored four tries as England women marked their first appearance since last year’s World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand with an emphatic 64-0 win over France in Warrington.
Australia-bound Hollie-Mae Dodd added a double while Tara-Jane Stanley scored a try and kicked eight out of 12 conversions in a one-sided start to life under new head coach Stuart Barrow.
The French, who exited the World Cup with three straight defeats, scarcely summoned any resistance as Shona Hoyle, Tamzin Renouf, Eboni Partington, Sinead Peach and Amy Hardcastle also scored to take England’s total try tally to 12.
Dodd, whose quickfire double extended England’s lead early in the second half, and Leeds Rhinos’ Georgia Roche made history as the first professional players to represent their country having recently inked deals in Australia’s NRLW.
They can expect much sterner tests ahead with the tone for the match set when Manon Samarra fumbled the kick-off and Roche sent Burke scampering over for the opener.
With the hosts’ incisive passing cutting apart the French defence, Burke picked up a neat pass from Stanley to cross for her second before the 10-minute mark.
England were making yards at will and Hoyle burst out of the front row to twist through the reluctant French rearguard and score England’s third midway through the first period.
The hosts switched flanks with Renouf and Partington both squeezing in on the right before Stanley went over, taking her personal first-half tally to 10 with a 50 per cent successful conversion rate.
Dodd touched down for a double early in the second period, sandwiching a neat kick from Stanley that teed up Burke to complete her hat-trick, and two more Stanley conversions took England’s tally to 46.
York captain Peach, recalled to the squad after being controversially omitted for the World Cup by Barrow’s predecessor Craig Richards, marked her return with England’s 10th try before Burke completed her personal tally.
Hardcastle, one of the stand-out performers of the World Cup campaign, crossed for England’s 12th and final try, serving up Stanley to take her own personal points tally to 20 with the final conversion of the day.
England completed the Grand Slam with a 38-33 victory over France but were saved by the bell in front of a world record 58,498 crowd at Twickenham.
Initially rising to the occasion of setting a new highest attendance for the women’s game, surpassing the 42,579 seen for last autumn’s World Cup final in Auckland, the Red Roses ran amok to build a 33-0 interval lead.
A fifth successive TikTok Women’s Six Nations looked certain but France were reborn for a second half they dominated 33-5 only to run out of time as England collapsed in dramatic fashion.
It remained a triumphant send-off for outgoing England head coach Simon Middleton with the strongest rivalry in the Championship producing another compelling instalment.
France were the last side to beat England in the Six Nations five years ago and they started the game like they finished it, although without the rewards.
It took resolute defending including an important penalty won on the ground by Hannah Botterman to deny them early on, but the pressure was halted when England pounced against the run of play.
Footwork and power swept Helena Rowland through the midfield before quick ball gave Abby Dow sight of the line with the right wing’s pace doing the rest.
Rowland’s centre partner Tatyana Heard was the next to swat away blue shirts and when she was eventually halted, Marlie Packer used her strength to crash over.
France’s defence was creaking and fly-half Jessy Tremouliere was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, ushering in a damaging spell that saw Alex Matthews cross and a penalty try awarded against Rose Bernadou.
Bernadou followed Tremouliere into the sin-bin and England continued to canter seemingly out of sight as Zoe Aldcroft touched down.
However, having regrouped at half-time, France full-back Emilie Boulard went over in the 48th minute through slick attacking play and when Gabrielle Vernier produced a smart dummy and sidestep before speeding over, the Red Roses’ nerves began to fray.
They settled when Lark Davies dived over once England’s pack had reasserted itself but the visitors continued to fight with tries by Charlotte Escudero, Emeline Gros and Cyrielle Banet falling narrowly short of the target needed.
Manu Tuilagi will be available for England selection after the World Cup after it was announced he has signed a new one-year contract with Sale.
Tuilagi has ended speculation that he could join the exodus of Red Rose stars heading for the Top 14 in France by extending his stay at the Sharks, the club he joined from Leicester in 2020.
The news that he will remain in the Gallagher Premiership has been confirmed on the same day that Courtney Lawes committed his future to Northampton, giving England head coach Steve Borthwick a double boost.
A Rugby Football Union rule means that players based overseas are unavailable for international selection.
Tuilagi’s time in Manchester has been marred by significant hamstring and Achilles injuries, but the powerful centre of Samoan origin remains an influential figure at Sale.
“My family and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to stay up north for another year,” Tuilagi said.
“It was an easy decision. I love coming to work every day and I couldn’t ask for a better environment on and off the pitch.
“We’re so tight as a group, which is why I think we’ve had such a good run this season. There couldn’t be a better time to be a Shark.”
Tuilagi won his 51st cap during the recent Six Nations and has also made a Test appearance for the Lions in 2013.
“This deal says so much about this club and what we’re building, but it says more about Manu the man,” Sale boss Alex Sanderson said.
“It says so much about what really matters to him and that’s rare in professional sports people.
“Manu is really happy here but I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to stay. For us and for Manu and his family, I think it’s the right decision.
“Manu has been part of winning squads with Leicester and England and this environment is the one he seems to be enjoying and thriving in the most.”
England international Courtney Lawes has signed a new contract with Gallagher Premiership club Northampton.
The 34-year-old forward has endured an injury-hit season, greatly limiting his opportunities for club and country.
Lawes last played Test rugby during the 2022 summer tour to Australia, when he captained England.
Saints have not specified the length of deal, but it is understood to run until the end of next season.
He will now prolong his stay at Franklin’s Gardens, having first featured for Northampton in 2007 and gone on to make 263 appearances, and it comes as another boost for the English game following Manu Tuilagi signing fresh terms with Sale.
“The club means a lot to me personally, and I wanted to stay here,” Lawes said.
“I especially didn’t want to leave at the end of a season where I have not played much, and I have not made as big a contribution as I would have wanted.
“It wouldn’t have felt right to me to leave now, so I was really keen to continue at Saints for that reason, but also because it’s so important for us as a squad to continue to build on what we’ve done over the last few seasons.”
Lawes made his England debut 14 years ago and also toured twice with the British and Irish Lions – to New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa four years later – making five Test appearances.
Northampton rugby director Phil Dowson added: “Courtney is an incredible player – one of the very best in the world, whether he is playing in the second-row or at flanker.
“His international experience with England and the Lions is almost unparalleled, but off the field he gives our group so much in terms of confidence and leadership.
“I am sure a lot of clubs over in France and Japan would have been keen to see Courtney turn out for them for the next few years.
“I know our supporters will be thrilled that he has decided to stay in Northampton and remain a one-club man, as he’s one of the best to have ever worn the black, green and gold.”
Joe Schmidt was appointed as Ireland head coach on this day in 2013.
The New Zealander, who had guided Leinster to back-to-back Heineken Cup titles in 2011 and 2012, signed a three-year contract as he succeeded Declan Kidney.
Earlier in the month, Kidney had been relieved of his role after a poor Six Nations campaign, in which Ireland finished fifth – a worst championship performance since 1999.
Schmidt was set to officially begin work on July 1 with Les Kiss, Ireland’s attack coach under Kidney, overseeing the summer tour to the United States and Canada.
“When I came to Leinster in 2010 I didn’t really want to be a head coach, but I have really enjoyed the experience since,” Schmidt said.
“I am really motivated by the challenge and this is a super, but intimidating one. If you are going to find out what you can bring to a group, what better way than to take on one of the big jobs in world rugby.
“I have had a good look at a lot of Ireland’s players and, when we get our collective together, we will try to improve performance and make us as competitive as possible.”
Schmidt subsequently took charge of Ireland after Leinster had won both the Challenge Cup and PRO12. He remained in the job until the end of the 2019 World Cup campaign.
Under Schmidt’s guidance, Ireland claimed three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2018, and beat New Zealand in Chicago in 2016 – their first ever victory over the All Blacks – then again in Dublin two years later.
The last match of Schmidt’s tenure was a 46-14 quarter-final defeat to New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen expects Toulouse to take his team on physically in Saturday’s clash of the Heineken Champions Cup heavyweights.
Four-time European champions Leinster tackle a club with a record five European titles under their belt.
And the semi-final clash at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will be one of the tournament’s classic encounters if it lives up to its billing.
“(They have) a big physical pack,” Cullen told www.epcrugby.com.
“I think they will be very direct when they have the ball, confrontational.
“They kick the ball a fair amount. I know Toulouse’s reputation is free-flowing, off-loading rugby, but I think they will be pretty pragmatic, particularly at the start of the game.
“As the game starts to open up then they will start to move the ball around and you see a lot of their points come late in games.
“I think they will try to take us on physically, which is good because that is what we want as well, a good physical challenge for our guys.
“You want to test yourself against the best teams out there. It’s a great challenge. They have great quality.
“You can’t switch off for a second with some of the players that they have – game-changing players.”
Leinster beat Toulouse comfortably in last season’s semi-finals to secure their place in the showpiece, where they narrowly lost to La Rochelle.
And it is going to require another huge effort in Leinster’s quest for an Aviva Stadium return on May 20, when the winners will face holders La Rochelle or sole English survivors Exeter, who clash in Bordeaux on Sunday.
Cullen added: “Last year, they (Toulouse) had played 100 minutes (against Munster in the quarter-finals) and travelled.
“I heard some of their comments this week about that, how they got things wrong around some of the selections leading into that game, or that sequence of games.
“You need to be prepared to deal with whatever comes your way on any given day.”
Leinster will be without Ireland international centre Robbie Henshaw through injury, so Charlie Ngatai partners Garry Ringrose in midfield.
“We wanted to be the top seeds, we wanted to make sure we did everything to be here at the Aviva, and now we are,” Cullen said.
“We are here, which is great, and it is a real privilege and honour to be here at this point in the tournament.”
New England captain Jodie Cunningham believes the women’s game is set for a bright future after a trio of the country’s brightest stars became the first to sign professional deals in Australia’s NRLW this month.
Two of those players, Hollie-Mae Dodd and Georgia Roche, who have landed contracts with Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights respectively, are set to feature in England’s mid-season clash with France in Warrington on Saturday.
And Cunningham, who has assumed the England captaincy from her St Helens team-mate Emily Rudge, believes it can only be a good thing as her side look to overhaul the southern hemisphere giants at the 2025 World Cup.
“I think it’s brilliant news. I’m 100 per cent behind the girls and I can’t wait to watch them ripping it up out there,” said Cunningham.
“I think it will only help develop them further and it shows how far the women’s game has come in this country that we are sitting here talking about players and professional contracts in this way.
“What we need is more competitive games on a more regular basis and that is what they are going to get out there. Super League is progressing in the right direction and hopefully this kind of news can only help it continue to improve.”
New head coach Stuart Barrow takes charge for the first time after his predecessor, Craig Richards, admitted in an emotional press conference following England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand in November that his contract was not being renewed.
Barrow also believes the deals for Dodd and Roche, plus Fran Goldthorpe, who is absent on rugby union duty, can only be a good thing for the England team.
“Obviously we don’t want Super League to become a feeder club for the NRLW, but from an international point of view it’s a really exciting opportunity for them and it can only improve them as players,” said Barrow.
“One of the biggest positives is that the girls who are now playing at age 14 and above in our community game can have aspirations to become full-time professionals in rugby league.”
Eight Saints players feature in Barrow’s first squad while there is also a return for York Valkyrie captain Sinead Peach, who last featured in the 2019 tour of Papua New Guinea and was controversially overlooked last year.
“When we got started in January it was a case of picking a few players up because there was a little bit of flatness after the World Cup,” said Barrow.
“But there is still a feelgood factor around the women’s game in general. It feels like it is still bouncing on the back of the impression we made at the World Cup, and it is up to us to capitalise and keep the momentum going forward.”
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