Sarah Rendell's report
Thanks for joining us this afternoon. We’ll be back for the next round of games. We’ll leave you with Sarah’s report from Ashton Gate.
There is an alternate universe where Meg Jones played the Six Nations clash between England and Wales in a red shirt instead of a white one. The Red Roses captain was born in Cardiff and can speak fluent Welsh but she chose to play for England, being qualified through her mother. That decision is surely one of the most important to England’s current form with Jones an integral and irreplaceable cog in the Red Roses’ machine.
Jones was named skipper before the Six Nations with Zoe Stratford pregnant and she has more than stepped to the plate. The 2025 World Rugby player of the year nominee has scored in two of the three opening matches of the tournament, bagging two against Wales at a sold-out Ashton Gate. Not only is she getting herself on the scoresheet, she is also proving to be the linchpin in the majority of the side’s attacking moves. Off pitch she is also inspiring the next generation, speaking candidly about the grief she has experienced after losing both of her parents in 2024. Jones said in the buildup to the game this particular match means that much more now and she displayed that on the pitch with another stellar performance.
Jones and her team may have inflicted their 11th consecutive win over Wales, despite losing Sadia Kabeya to injury after 21 minutes, but the team have clearly improved under Sean Lynn. Wales secured a bonus-point with four tries, the final one coming from Seren Lockwood. The 24 points scored by the visitors was the most they had ever recorded against England and was 12 more than they had in their previous encounter at last year’s Six Nations.
