The Red Roses are striving to play the perfect game, says the prop Sarah Bern as England prepare to face Wales in the Women’s Six Nations at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
The Red Roses have won their past 21 games in a row across all competitions but Bern believes there is room for improvement. In round one last Sunday that was definitely the case, despite the team beating Italy 38-5. The Red Roses had been ruthless in the first half, racking up 33 points, but scored only one try in the second.
Bern, who came off the bench against Italy but starts against Wales, credits Italy’s hard work at the breakdown and their line speed in defence for her team’s stalled second-half attack. The Bristol Bears player says the focus this week has been on being clinical across the entire match.
“As Red Roses we are all striving for that perfect game and I think we can definitely do it,” she says. “I think we are still yet to have it, even through WXV 1 [the autumn international tournament] I don’t think we had an 80-minute performance. So it is something we are working on.
“It’s about controlling the game and how do you take control of the game? It’s something we have been looking at this week so it is definitely at the forefront of our minds.”
Bern starting is one of 13 changes John Mitchell has made to the starting XV and the raft of alterations comes as the head coach trials different combinations before the Rugby World Cup is held in England this autumn.
That tournament is something the England players have started to think about. Bern adds: “The Six Nations is definitely in full focus but I think every [nation] at this point who is in the Rugby World Cup will be thinking: ‘How do we develop for the World Cup? How do we get camps that mirror the times that we have? How do we get in travel that mirrors the travel that we are going to have to get used to and the places we need to stay at?’
“It’s probably more of getting used to being here, there and everywhere, up and down the country. As Red Roses we are pretty good at travelling now, we have travelled a lot. So it [the World Cup] is definitely there and it is probably a summit and we are working our way up the summit of where we need to go. But Six Nations is definitely at the forefront.”
Bern, 27, says the role each player has had over the past few weeks has been well communicated, which “brings a lot of clarity in terms of role and clarity builds confidence. People should feel more confident in their roles and be able to take their opportunities”.
The amount of change also shows the sheer amount of world-class players the Red Roses have at their disposal. Sadia Kabeya, who has also been promoted to a starting place after coming off the bench in round one, says she is thriving in such a competitive environment. “Having competition is always a good thing,” the openside flanker says. “Especially at England, everyone has amazing talent particularly in the back row. We have great jacklers, great carriers, great tacklers. So there is always someone pushing you somewhere. For me I thrive on that.
“Since coming in I have had Marlie [Packer, who has been omitted for the Wales game] there and we have had a little battle. Now we have Georgia Brock and Abi Burton coming in as well.”
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For now England’s focus is on Wales, a team they have dominated in recent years. The last time Wales beat England was in the 2015 Six Nations. England have won their past eight games against Wales in the championship – the two teams did not play each other in 2021 because the tournament was shortened because of the pandemic – with an aggregate score of 415-50.
According to their prop Kelsey Jones, who starts from the bench on Saturday, Wales are under no illusions about the team they face. “I think our focus this week is ourselves, I know it is a cliche but we know what is coming,” she says. “A lot of us play against them in the PWR [Premiership Women’s Rugby] week in, week out. We know what players they have got on the pitch and we know the calibre of players coming off the bench.
“We had so many positives in that last game [against Scotland] it is about now creating more positives and more opportunities and hopefully finishing them off.”
Regardless of the outcome of the game, the hosts in Cardiff will come away with a hugely positive achievement: they are set to break the attendance record for a women’s sporting event in Wales, with more than 18,000 tickets sold. The record is currently held by the Wales women’s football team with 16,845 watching their European Championship playoff in November against the Republic of Ireland.
The key to success lies in not playing the occasion, adds Jones. “It is going to be such a crazy, great environment. Playing at the heart of Wales in the Principality, it will come down to controlling the emotions, settling ourselves and trusting that whatever we do this week we will put it [any lesson] into place [for next week]. It’s a case of playing with confidence this weekend and trying to get that performance.”