The signs have been up for weeks now, familiar warnings of a major event to come. Expect delays, they say, on 29 April; there’s a rugby game on at Twickenham. Those unfortunate enough to be particularly well acquainted with the Surrey swing of the London Orbital will recognise the notices, ready to swerve the matchday swell around Junction 12 that accompanies any England matchday.
But for those with long associations with women’s rugby, those same neon flashes have brought a lump in the throat and a tear to the eye and a prompt for reflection. On Saturday afternoon, England’s women take to the Twickenham turf for the first time in a standalone fixture, with in excess of 53,000 tickets sold for the best-attended women’s rugby fixture in history. The warnings of the crowds to come have stirred special feelings for those who have fought so long to lay the foundations for progress and a day just like this.
