England maintained their dominance in the Women's Six Nations with a 84-7 demolition of Scotland at Murrayfield, extending their winning streak to 35 consecutive Test matches. The victory came despite the absence of 10 players due to injury and pregnancy, including World Cup-winning captain Zoe Stratford, Abbie Ward, Rosie Galligan and Lark Atkin-Davies. Stand-in skipper Sarah Bern marked her return with two tries, repeating her brace from the opening 29-5 win over Ireland at Twickenham. The Red Roses overcame a sluggish start against Ireland before finding form against Scotland, running in 12 tries in the one-sided contest.
Teenage back-row Demelza Short made her Test debut in Edinburgh after being fast-tracked into the squad due to the upheaval. With several senior players sidelined — Hannah Botterman, Morwenna Talling, Natasha Hunt, May Campbell, Tatyana Heard and Ales Matthews among them — opportunities have opened for younger talent. Bern, now on 81 caps, said the squad culture prioritises bravery and self-expression, regardless of experience. She added that no performance so far has met the team's internal benchmarks for excellence, despite the results. Captain Meg Jones highlighted a video of three pregnant Red Roses training at camp as a source of inspiration ahead of the Wales clash at Ashton Gate.
England's relentless winning streak continues, yet the team claims they haven't delivered a performance they're truly proud of — revealing a standard where dominance isn't satisfaction. The forced integration of newcomers like 19-year-old Demelza Short hasn't slowed them, suggesting depth that masks disruption rather than overcoming it. With Sarah Bern scoring braces in both matches, the absence of 10 frontline players barely registers on the scoreboard. No Nigerian or African player featured in the match or squad details provided.
💡 NaijaBuzz is an AI-assisted news aggregator. This content is curated from third-party sources — NaijaBuzz is not the original publisher and is not responsible for the accuracy of source reporting. The NaijaBuzz Take is AI-assisted editorial opinion only, not established fact. All persons mentioned are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. NaijaBuzz does not endorse the views expressed in source articles.
