by England have been training with artificial crowd noise in preparation for their marquee Women’s Six Nations match with Ireland in front of a huge crowd at Twickenham this weekend.
Around 50,000 are expected at the home of rugby England on Saturday, which would make it the second-highest attendance for a women’s Test match after the record 58,648 crowd that watched the Red Roses become Grand Slam champions against France last May.
Such attendances are relatively new to women’s rugby – matches in England’s premier league, Women’s Rugby Premiership, rarely exceed 2,000 – and the Red Roses have spent the week recreating the stadium atmosphere ahead of the event. .
“Early in the week when we did more low-key training indoors, we put in some crowd noise,” said England captain Marlie Packer. “I personally loved it. He just raised it [because] you have to be really clear and concise in your calls and it puts the leaders ahead in different areas. They had to make sure that they are very concise in what they had to say in the lineouts as well as the calls out at the back. It paints a different picture for us. It’s a new thing that we introduced this week that raised our game. Hopefully we can get him out on the field on Saturday.”
John Mitchell, the England head coach, made few changes to the side that beat Scotland last week, although flyhalf Zoe Harrison and lock Abbie Ward were two high-profile omissions who missed out on selection for the main game.
Lark Atkin-Davies returns as a keeper, having completed concussion protocols and starts in light of Amy Cokayne’s ban for this game following her red card in Edinburgh.
It was Mitchell’s side’s second red card in their last three games – Sarah Beckett remains on a three-game ban after being sent off in England’s Six Nations final against Italy. New Zealand insisted, however, that discipline had not been a focal point over the past week.
“I want us to keep playing on the edge but I also want us to know how we need to change our behavior,” Mitchell said, adding that there were “bigger rocks to deal with than discipline”.
Adaptability has been a key theme in Mitchell’s tenure after England were marred by Lydia Thompson’s red card in the 2022 World Cup final, from which they bounced back and never lost to New Zealand. Embracing adversity has been part of the Red Roses’ training as they build towards the World Cup at home next year.
“We’re always curious about what the game can bring and what the opposition can bring that you couldn’t predict,” Mitchell said. “So we always laugh at something weird as a training group. I’m sure the girls are always thinking, ‘Where did that come from?’ Ultimately you need to have a bit of humor around it too. If you practice then you will be better prepared for the situation. Between now and 2025 there will be many different challenges that we are not ready for but we have to be.”
Ireland have made two changes to their starting line-up following their win over Wales last weekend. Hannah O’Connor comes into the second row for Sam Monaghan and Aoife Dalton replaces Enya Breen in midfield.
England team: Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins); Abby Dow (Trailfinders), Megan Jones (Leicester Tigers), Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury), Jess Breach (Saracens); Holly Aitchison (Bristol Bears), Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury); Hannah Boterman (Bristol Bears), Lark Atkin-Davies (Bristol Bears), Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury), Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), Rosie Galligan (Saracens), Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning), Marlie Packer (captain, Saracens), Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Replacements: Connie Powell (Harlequins), Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury), Kelsey Clifford (Saracens), Morwenna Talling (Sale Sharks), Maddie Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs), Lucy Packer (Harlequins), Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning), Sydney Gregson ( Saracens).
The Irish team: Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks); Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere), Eve Higgins (Railway Union), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere), Bebhinn Parsons (Blackrock College); Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere), Aoifeann Reilly (Blackrock College); Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Christy Haney (Blackrock College),
Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College), Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College), Aoife Wafer (Blackrock College), Edel McMahon (captain, Exeter Chiefs), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere).
Replacements: Cliodhna Moloney (Exeter Chiefs), Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere), Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke RFC), Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere), Shannon Ikahihifo (Trailfinders), Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Leiner), Enya Breen (Collège na Carrig Black) , Meavh Deely (Blackrock College).
