Women's Six Nations 2023: 'Massive attention to detail' to keep England ahead
- Published
Women's Six Nations: England thrash Wales in thrilling nine-try victory
England are focusing on fine details to stay ahead of increasingly professional Six Nations rivals, head coach Simon Middleton says.
Hopes Wales - contracted since January 2022 - could challenge the Red Roses never came to fruition in a 59-3 victory for Middleton's team.
England have dominated the tournament since becoming professional in 2019 and are chasing a fifth successive title.
"We're really conscious that the gap is closing," Middleton said.
"Our challenge is to keep it as wide as we can. It will get tougher and tougher.
"We've put a massive amount of attention to detail on everything that encompasses our game from nutrition, to how we play, to psychology support."
Wales tested England for 30 minutes before the Red Roses pulled away and made their dominance plain when they scored a late try despite being down to 13 players.
"The difference between a couple of years [of professionalism] on our backs showed today," he said.
"Physically we're in great shape."
We're pushing ourselves in all departments - Dow
'That's amazing!' England's Dow scores 'incredible' solo try
Once again, England showed variety in their game with the backs claiming five tries and the forwards four.
In the 2023 Women's Six Nations the Red Roses have played an attacking style that shows marked differences from the forwards-focussed play that helped them reach the 2022 World Cup Final.
Wing Abby Dow, who scored a stunning solo effort in Wales, praised Middleton for this, saying he is providing a "platform" for the coach who takes over when the 57-year-old steps down from his role at the end of the Six Nations.
"He's said, 'We've got the driving maul sorted, I'm going to show you what the backs can do as well,'" Dow said on BBC Two.
"It's big respect to Simon Middleton for driving us to push ourselves in all departments now, which is incredible."
