England centre Tatyana Heard believes the interchangeable combinations within the squad and versatility will be key in their pursuit of another Women’s Six Nations title.
The Red Roses are seeking to equal their best run of successive title wins – seven. They also have their eye on a piece of history, though, as no side has ever recorded four Grand Slams in a row.
Following the 67-12 win over Wales, in which Ellie Kildunne scored a hat-trick of tries, England are now gearing up to face Ireland on Saturday, with Heard saying their execution and handling will be vital in gaining another win.
“Our execution is massive. We want to be making sure that we’re sticking those last passes,” said Heard.
“So you want to be able to try things. You want to be able to be brave in everything that you do. So things are going to happen.
“Mistakes are going to happen, but we want to make sure that they’re minimal, and I guess that’s kind of what every team wants to do, but that’s something that we are trying to put together going forward.”
Following their victory over Wales, Red Roses head coach John Mitchell praised their good start with new combinations but said his side lost momentum in the second half.
England’s wing Claudia MacDonald celebrates after scoring the team’s fourth try during the Women’s Six Nations match between England and Italy
Relying on partnerships will be key to tackling this problem, with Heard leaning on her Gloucester team-mate Hannah Jones in the midfield.
“Building those relationships is huge,” Heard added.
“To have combinations that suit how we play is great, and making sure that we know how each of us click and how to get the best out of each other is really important.
“I’ve tried to build that with Meg [Megan Jones], but equally, trying to build that with everyone else in the squad to make sure that we’ve got all our combinations right.
England No 8 Maddie Feaunati dives over the line to score their first try during against Wales
“Meg loves to be involved in everything and has some great energy and is really loud personality-wise, whereas Hannah [Botterman] is much quieter and reserved, but both of them like to bring a physicality that I relate to.
“It’s been really great for a little bit of a change up for the Six Nations.
“They both bring very different games, and it’s really cool to be alongside them because they’re both so knowledgeable about the game.
“For me to be able to learn off both of them and adapt my game based around who I’m playing with, is something I’m trying to learn with and grow with.
“It’s great having people that are so versatile with different combinations, really exciting.”
Red Roses hoping to replicate success over improved Ireland
England beat Ireland 88-10 in the Six Nations last year and will be hoping to replicate that success at Musgrave Park in Cork.
However, Ireland are coming off of a 54-12 success against Italy and will be using their home support to their full advantage.
“They’ve had a great run of games in the past few months and have definitely improved,” added Heard.
“You can’t deny that’s been a class performance from them, especially against the Black Ferns out in WXV.
“But we just want to focus on ourselves and make sure we’re improving. We’re obviously trying to keep adapting our game as we go.
“That’s one of the really important things for us so we will be making sure we can do that to hopefully stay on top.”
England’s Red Roses travel to face Ireland at Musgrave Park in Cork for round three of the Women’s Six Nations on Saturday April 12 (4.45pm kick-off).
England’s Women’s Six Nations 2025 fixtures
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