Preparations are well underway for the Red Roses, with two Test matches coming in over the horizon against France and New Zealand. England take on the two titans next month across back to back weekends, beginning with a battle with Les Bleus at Gloucester’s Kingsholm, before the Black Ferns bring the fight to Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.
With three weeks to go before the Red Roses clash with France at the home of the Cherry and Whites, England wing Abby Dow is excited to take on Les Bleus on home soil. However, the last meeting between the two sides took place in the Stade Chaban-Delmas in Bordeaux, as England secured the 2024 Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam with a decisive 42-21 away win.
With the passion for rugby palpable in that particular region of Southwestern France, Dow believes that playing against France in their own backyard, is one of the best experiences for the Red Roses to ‘thrive’ in. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Ruck, the Trailfinders flyer recalled her experiences of England’s last trip to France and the incredible atmosphere she encountered.
“The absolute pure French passion is incredible. The thing that I absolutely love about rugby is like even when we’re playing in New Zealand, it’s how rugby is integrated into a culture. There’s no question that rugby is integrated into French culture, you can thrive with it as an English player.
“It’s just a feeling as to how much rugby means, not just to the players you’re playing against, but to every single person that is almost certainly screaming ‘allez les bleus’, without any want or passion for the English to do anything good. It’s absolutely brilliant and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. It makes me happy, the crowd is brilliant, the culture is brilliant. I almost had a blue shirt underneath me at one point because they’re so loud!”
Whilst the back-three star takes fond memories back across the English Channel after each expedition to France, Dow expressed her excitement at hosting Les Bleus back on her home soil. Whilst the former Harlequin turned Trailfinder has never specifically called Kingsholm her ‘home’, the likes of Zoe Aldcroft and Mo Hunt will be chomping at the bit to return to the land of double league champions Gloucester-Hartpury.
Dow recognises the impact that a home crowd has upon an international fixture, and has been apart of some milestone fixtures that have coincided with the growth of women’s rugby. The final round of the 2023 Women’s Six Nations saw over 58,000 fans pack themselves into Twickenham, as England defeated France in the championship decider. Dow expressed her gratitude in being apart of such monumental occasions, with the Black Ferns on their way to South West London for the Test on September 14th.
“With a home crowd, and you look at how France were last year (2023 Women’s Six Nations), it was absolutely incredible. When you see us as a team and as a nation, we created and keep expanding the boundaries of women’s sport and women’s rugby. It’s a real privilege to be part of that and seeing it first-hand the pure change.
“I look at how many people probably turned up for my first cap, definitely under 5,000 people. And now you’re getting nearly 60,000 people at Twickenham. There’s no other way but describing as a privilege. So, I think both games are equally important. They’re just so exciting. Playing with the home crowd, with the crowd that’s behind you. Even though I do love a French crowd, a home crowd is always best.”
The Red Roses have quite the schedule for the second half of 2024, beginning with the fixtures against France (September 7th) and New Zealand (September 14th). John Mitchell’s side then jet out to Canada for WXV1, where they will take on the United States (September 29th), New Zealand (October 6th) and the hosting Canadians (October 12th).