women
international women
A decade has passed since then England last time lost two games in a row. On Friday night, that ride came to an end as Canada beat the world champions 31-22 in Ottawa to secure back-to-back wins.
Immediately after full-time, Red Roses captain Meg Jones was quick to declare that her side were “not broken”, despite suffering back-to-back defeats as their 41-game unbeaten run ended.
Later, at a press conference in England after the game, Jones continued his defiance.
“I honestly believe we have the best players in the world,” Jones said. “When we shoot, we’re really unstoppable. Just look at what this team has done in the last decade.”
“We’ve changed the game in scale, multiplied the audience and brought attention to ourselves, and you’re taking that away from what we’ve done.
“But like I said at the beginning with the girls, high performance is based on what you’re doing now. We’re not dwelling on the past. We’re not worried about the future. We’re focused on the present.”
The Red Roses were well beaten in Ottawa. Individual mistakes and a lack of intensity undermined England’s performance, allowing Canada to take control and expose the world champions’ shortcomings.
Statistics tell part of that story. Emma Singh turned the ball over three times and Jones missed six tackles. That’s before even taking into account the midfield mix-up that led to Sophie de Goede’s first try.
England will now travel to New Jersey to take on a USA The Lady Eagles are on the side with a lot of confidence. On the other hand, this current crop of Red Roses must answer questions that no player of their generation has had to – how to win with the odds stacked against them.
With a week to prepare for the Eagles, Mitchell identified the execution as a key area England must improve.
“Test matches of this quality, against the best teams in the world, always come down to execution,” Mitchell said.
“We gave ourselves a lot of chances and we just didn’t make it when we should have.
“It’s a reality, it’s a fact. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s not a judgment; it’s just the reality of what you get when you don’t make it.”
