England far from perfect but Red Roses machine marches on
Being crowned world champions in front of a record women's rugby crowd of 81,885 at Allianz Stadium set the bar very high for John Mitchell's England. As an occasion, it does not really get much bigger in any sport. The Red Roses have played across the country in order to build a loyal fan base, which all came together in September as they defeated Canada to claim a first World Cup in 11 years.
So, what was next? Was it too big an ask to try to fill Allianz Stadium again? With the momentum of record-breaking World Cup viewing figures, England called on their supporters to return to Allianz Stadium for their opening game of this year's Women's Six Nations against Ireland.
It was a bold call, and one that delivered, as a crowd of 77,120 turned out to see Mitchell's side defeat Ireland in their first game since becoming world champions. A one-off home World Cup final was always going to draw a large crowd, but to back that up with a record crowd for a Women's Six Nations game - beating the 58,498 who watched the Grand Slam decider in 2023 - is just as important for the sport's growth. "You can never replicate a game that has happened before [the World Cup final]," England full-back Ellie Kildunne told BBC Sport.
"The World Cup final is a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life and I don't want to compare the two things. "We have to get used to this. We sold out then [the World Cup final] and we nearly sold out now, this is going to become the norm.
"This shows where the women's game is going and long may it last. " A decade ago, a crowd of 2,500 watched England narrowly beat Ireland at the same venue. Hooker Amy Cokayne is the only player from that game to feature in the back-to-back wins at Allianz Stadium.