Women’s Six Nations: Marlie Packer is ready to immediately add to the Red Roses’ World Cup history with a Six Nations Grand Slam. rugby union news

Marlie Packer remembers when “100 fans and two dogs” came to watch an England rugby match.

Now the longest-serving member of Red Rose has the experience of playing in front of 81,000 people.

Last autumn, Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium was sold out for the World Cup final, and Packer got off the team bus and did something she had never seen before in all her years in an England shirt.

“The hairs on the back of my neck stood up,” she said. “It was the most sensational thing I’ve ever seen in rugby.”

The tournament toured the country, including Sunderland, Northampton and Brighton, bringing supporters from every stop and delivering them to the home of English rugby in record numbers.

“We only played in one place and didn’t have the fans come to us,” Packer recalled. “We had fans coming from all over the country to watch the game, and at that moment they actually said, ‘This is amazing. I want to get tickets to the final.’”

Another record crowd awaits as England begin their Women’s Six Nations campaign as world champions and the Red Roses chase more history.

No team has ever won a World Cup title while also achieving the Six Nations Grand Slam. This group will be the first group.

How did the culture of the red rose change, and did it trigger cultural change in society?

Record crowds don’t suddenly materialize. Behind the sellouts and rising ratings is a group that was deliberately and carefully rebuilt, culturally, if not tactically, when manager John Mitchell came on board four years ago.

At that point England were already victorious. Over two World Cup cycles, they have reached two finals and lost twice at the final hurdle. Mitchell quickly noticed the gap, and it wasn’t on the play team.

“This wasn’t just something that happened on the field,” Packer explained. “It was things off the pitch that he needed to change, and he came in and immediately shattered our culture. He wanted to improve us, he wanted us to be ourselves. When we’re working, we work, when we’re working, we stop working, and enjoy the time we have with each other.”

Megan Jones, who captains the Six Nations following the announcement that World Cup-winning skipper Zoe Stratford is expecting her first child, believes the Six Nations are actively resisting the comfort of their own success.

“You’re told if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” she explained. “We’re probably looking at it from a different angle. We want to break it to see if we can hold up and make it our own. So we’re not afraid to break things to continue to raise the game and raise the bar.”

What a world champion says is unusual and even more persuasive.

Christiana Balogun, Millie David, Haineala Lutui, Annabel Meta, Sarah Parry, Demelza Short and Jodie Verghese make up the unrestricted squad at senior international level.

Flanker Sadia Kabeya believes Mitchell has created the ideal environment for young people to come through.

“It gives you a space to be comfortable, but it also pushes yourself outside of that comfort zone,” she said. “It allows you to be yourself and know that you don’t have to be someone else.”

After the World Cup, I feel like something has changed, not just the number of spectators.

Packer first noticed it during a club appearance. Boys started showing up for autographs, and girls asked how they could play like her and told her they loved watching the Red Roses.

“I want to be there for any girl or boy, at any age,” she said. “Whether you’re a guy or a girl, if you want to go to your local club, go pick up a ball and have a good time. Because the truth is, what rugby has given me is not just what it’s like on the pitch, it’s also about the friendships I’ve made.”

Kabeya is equally clear about what this moment means beyond the sport itself.

“It’s not just about inspiring women, it’s not just about inspiring young girls,” she said. “It inspires young boys and men and allows them into our world, because for a long time it was only women who understood women’s rugby and now we are growing that picture and growing the fan base.”

‘We can’t just rely on the fact that we are world champions’

Despite the sheer professionalism that undoubtedly drives the Red Roses’ success, the team is still brimming with personality.

Jones looks at what he wants people to see when they look at this squad from a captain’s perspective.

“I always thought I was professional. I thought I had to be honest and take myself very seriously. But in reality it was the complete opposite,” the captain said. “That’s what many of us want to show: that we are all different individuals and that in reality we all come together and embrace the same goal: winning.”

Saturday’s Six Nations opener brings another record crowd and another opportunity to set records.

“I’m so excited to be back on the field and be with the girls and another record-breaking crowd,” said Kabeya. “Building on the momentum we’ve had, especially in terms of the growth of women’s rugby, we hope to see bigger and better crowds and a great atmosphere.”

A veteran of 112 caps, Packer has more context than most players and a clear understanding of what it takes to get to the Six Nations.

“We can’t just rely on the fact that we are world champions and did everything right at the World Cup,” she said. “Because that’s actually when it becomes your Achilles heel.

“We have to keep improving and do our best.”

England’s 2026 Women’s Six Nations fixtures

• vs Ireland (Saturday April 11) – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (2.45pm)
• vs Scotland (Saturday 18 April) – Murrayfield, Edinburgh (1.30pm)
• vs Wales (Saturday 25 April) – Bristol Ashton Gate (2.15pm)
• vs Italy (Saturday, May 9) – Sergio Lanfrancchi Stadium, Parma (3pm)
• vs France (Sunday May 17) – Stade Atlantique, Bordeaux (5:45 p.m.)