The great and the good of women’s rugby disappeared into the Twickenham evening, faces warmed by the spring sunshine, hearts warmed by the occasion. It had been a day where everything and everyone came together for a long-awaited afternoon that brought a real festival feel, with close to 60,000 people revelling in a celebration of progress made.
From the first knockings until deep into Saturday night, the streets around Twickenham were alive. Families in matching shirts filed on to the morning rattlers, many granted a first opportunity to visit the home of English rugby. It meant a very different experience to a men’s Six Nations Saturday, imbued with a positive party spirit. Throughout an odd contest that saw long passages dominated by each side, the crowd remained engaged, roaring every positive English involvement, lifting the home side in the low moments and celebrating the first half highs wildly.
