Red Roses player ratings v France | 2026 Guinness Women's Six Nations

A championship that has been building towards Bordeaux, went out with Red Roses ribbons on it as England won an eighth Guinness Women’s Six Nations title in a row and a fifth consecutive Grand Slam.

It was also an 18th win in a row against France and a 38th successive Test victory. But what about the players that delivered a 43-28 victory at the Stade Atlantique?

15 Ellie Kildunne – 9

Kildunne, like the rest of England’s back three, is used to seeing more space on a field than France presented to England in the fist half so it took her a while to adjust. Once she did, two tries soon followed and she left the usual stardust on the pitch. We know full-back is her best position, but it’s also best for England that she’s at full-back, not on the wing.

14 Jess Breach – 8

Jess Breach’s two tries encapsulated exactly why she is England’s premier winger. For her first she collected a poor pass from Moloney-MacDonald, then lost her footing once she did get the ball. That allowed France’s cover defence to reach her. It mattered not, she quickly slipped round the outside and touched down under a heavy challenge. For her second, it was all about timing and raw speed. Despite some defensive frailties, she showed up very well.

13 Meg Jones – 8

The woman for the big occasion, every single time. Typical that it was her sheer eagerness to get in the face of the French that created England’s second try. Much has been made of the high number of minutes England’s captain has played this Women’s Six Nations, staying on for the duration in earlier rounds despite England having sewn up the win long before. Could that be why she didn’t sparkle in attack as much as we’ve seen this Six Nations? She was still one of England’s best players and can now reflect on a job incredibly well done in her first Six Nations as skipper.

12 Helena Rowland – 7

A catalogue of nice touches in attack and a barrowload of effort in defence. She worked her socks off in the midfield as you have to do given the amount of traffic France sent down the middle of the pitch. It will be extremely tempting to continue with the Rowland-Jones combination in the WXV Global Series later this year. And why not, it’s a duet on song.

11 Claudia Moloney-MacDonald – 8

Moloney-MacDonald repaid John Mitchell’s faith in her in Bordeaux. Other young flyers might be faster but no other wing in England can boast the kind of error-free rugby that the Exeter Chief can. She hardly misses a beat and in big matches that is extremely important.

10 Zoe Harrison – 7

Harrison has been faultless for England this campaign and although her 80 minutes in France was not marked out by any notable moments of fly-half brilliance, she was rock solid, and of course, her place-kicking was world class.

9. Lucy Packer – 7

Packer isn’t the taliswoman that Natasha Hunt or Pauline Bourdon-Sansus are but one of her strengths is that she doesn’t try to be. Her excellence is in the small things: passing, kicking, game management. She stood up in defence too in Bordeaux.

8 Maddie Feaunati – 7

Feaunati has been given a lot of space this Six Nations. But nothing was given to her free of charge in Bordeaux. Everything she got, she earned through her own aggression and disciplined lines of running. Worked hard in defence too.

7 Sadia Kabaya – 7

Super Sadia puts on her superhero scrum-hat when the tempo of a Test match starts to rise. So it was that we only saw the best of Kabeya in Bordeaux when France were at their best, which was only in patches. She’s England’s defensive shield, and always there when things get dicey.

6 Abi Burton – 7

It’s been a Six Nations to remember for Abi Burton. She started it excelling as an auxiliary second-row. She ended in as a rampaging blindside. In between it was work, work, work and first-class skills in the tight.

5 Delaney Burns – 6

Delaney Burns wasn’t prominent but neither was she outshone by the vaunted company of her team-mate Lilli Ives Campion and France’s Madoussou Fall Raclot. The experience gained in starting this match will stand her in excellent stead for the big occasions in her future.

4 Lilli Ives Campion – 7

When you are in the thick of it as much as Ives Campion was in Bordeaux you don’t make every tackle, nor hit every ruck exactly right. You just hope that when the music stops you’re made more positive impacts than not. And Ives Campion was in a lot of credit come the final whistle. An industrious performance.

3 Sarah Bern – 8

France knew that one way of knocking England’s confidence is to stop the Red Roses’ big runners in their tracks. The player they would have had at the top of that hit list is Sarah Bern. But they couldn’t stop Bern. Once she started making yards, others followed. A real standard setter for this England team.

2 Amy Cokayne – 9

Her physical strength might be unrivalled international rugby. Set England’s defensive tone with a turnover in the early minutes and was monstrously effective in the tight, and the loose. She scored once again to round off a championship in which she has touched down in every match.

1 Mackenzie Carson – 8

Had the ball ripped off her when England were on the front foot early on, seconds later France were scoring the opening try. From thereon she was one of England’s best carriers and most punishing defenders.

Replacements

16 Connie Powell – N/A

17 Liz Crake – N/A

18 Maud Muir – 6

Bashed into French women with her usual speed and precision. Made sure any possible French flourish was met with a firm ‘non’.

19 Demelza Short – 6

A campaign to remember for Short who won her fourth cap against France. She’s on the radar now after a stunning emergence this spring.

20 Marlie Packer – 7

Given that Packer is hunting a try-scoring record, it says everything about her that she chose to pass to her team-mate Cokayne for England’s last try, rather than barge over herself when she so easily could have. Nothing comes above the team for Marlie.

21 Flo Robinson – N/A

22 Holly Aitchison – N/A

23 Emma Sing – N/A