Bouncing from toe to heel in the bowels of Allianz Stadium, John Mitchell was in a surprisingly buoyant mood. Of course, another Women’s Six Nations grand slam had (just about) been secured, the Red Roses long unbeaten run extended again, but one might have expected a more reflective, ruminative head coach after seeing England so nearly contrive to throw victory against France away. After 31-7 had become 43-42, there was a telling lift in the volume from the Twickenham crowd as the home side walked slowly towards halfway for what proved the final restart - England supporters not used to seeing their side in a proper bout rose with relish to the occasion.
Mitchell can prickle and bristle with the best of them post-match but his positivity reflected the fact that this was precisely the sort of outing England needed. “I feel really good,” the New Zealander beamed, still yet to taste defeat in his tenure. “There’s been other games in the tournament where I’ve probably come off feeling like I need to fix things. Even when they scored in the last minutes, I still think we had enough in the tank.
