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Marlie Packer eyes Twickenham sellout after England clinch Grand Slam

By PA
Marlie Packer of England lifts the TikTok Women's Six Nations trophy following the TikTok Women's Six Nations match between England and France at Twickenham Stadium on April 29, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Marlie Packer believes England can sell out Twickenham before the 2025 World Cup final after the Grand Slam was completed in front of a crowd of 58,498.

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France were edged 38-33 in a riveting Tik Tok Women’s Six Nations title decider that set a new record attendance for a women’s game, surpassing the previous highest of 42,579.

The Rugby Football Union has targeted a full house for the World Cup final when it hosts the tournament in two years’ time, but Packer believes that on the evidence of Saturday that goal could arrive earlier.

“For me as a Red Rose, I want to sell out Twickenham,” said England’s captain after the first standalone women’s match to be staged at Twickenham.

“I believe we can do it and I believe we can do it before 2025 for the World Cup final. Look at today – we weren’t a curtain raiser, it was all about us.

“The other nations are closing the gap and getting professional contracts, so the quality of the games is getting better and not just England v France games.

“Everything is on the rise so more tickets will be sold and more stadiums will sell out.”

While Packer sees the possibilities at Twickenham, the Saracens openside is keen for England to continue their policy of playing at Premiership grounds.

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“When we take the Red Roses on the road, we get fans in from all over the country. We’re a brand and we want to keep selling our brand,” Packer said.

“Yes it would be great to play at Twickenham every time and that in itself will come in time, but we need to keep building our fanbase.”

England led 33-0 at half-time but France hit back with five tries in a tense finish.

“We had done enough in the first-half and we took our points in the second-half to finish off the game,” Packer said.

“But we’ll look back at this game to see what we need to work on in the second-half. We got the victory and that’s what we came here to do today.”

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France captain Audrey Forlani admitted her side failed to do themselves justice as they slipped to a 33-0 interval deficit.

“In the first-half, that is not a true reflection of our team,” Forlani said.

“If you look at the second-half, that is our real team. We need to keep working and keep that second half in mind.”

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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