It was a weekend on which England and France’s superiority over the rest of the Women’s Six Nations was clearly underlined. It was not just the margins of victory but the manner in which they were achieved: France’s 14 players commanding in Cork; an injury-ravaged England rarely threatened by Italy at Franklin’s Gardens.
The challenges that England are facing are worth summarising. Their list of absentees for their second-round fixture in Northampton was 19 names long. The hosts’ head coach, Simon Middleton, is about to leave. Sarah Hunter, their long-time captain, has just retired. Since the World Cup, England have lost as many as eight props that might have made a matchday squad.
