The image of England captain Zoe Aldcroft hoisting the Women’s Six Nations trophy, a testament to defeating France and securing the Red Roses’ seventh consecutive title, is a familiar expectation as the tournament progresses. England’s dominance, fueled by the introduction of professional contracts in 2019, has been unwavering. They haven’t lost a Six Nations game since then, and a victory over Italy in their tournament opener would mark their 30th consecutive win in the competition.

While England is favored for another clean sweep, a compelling question arises: Could a loss actually benefit the Red Roses in the long term, especially with the Rugby World Cup on home soil later this year? of their past 51 games, their sole defeat was in the 2022 World cup final against New zealand. Some analysts suggest that experiencing defeat could provide invaluable lessons, preparing them to handle pressure situations effectively.

Looking back, before England’s triumph at the 2014 Rugby World Cup, the team faced setbacks, including a 2013 Test series loss against New Zealand and a defeat by France during the 2014 Six Nations. Katy Daley-Mclean, who captained England to World Cup glory, reflected on The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby podcast: Those were huge moments. When we lost to france, everyone knew it was happening but it was like you were under water. No one had any language to solve the problems. It was helpful for when we got squeezed a little by Canada in that 2014 final, we had language. we built interaction streams, we built a leadership group that was resilient and knew what to do.

however, past results don’t guarantee future outcomes.England also lost to New Zealand less than a year before the 2017 World Cup final, succumbing to the Black Ferns once more.

Claudia MacDonald, England’s versatile back, returning after a neck injury, offers a different viewpoint. She doesn’t believe a loss is necesary for progress. I have heard the desire for England to lose.I think it is indeed all about challenges, losing is a potential challenge but I think there are also so many other challenges that we can be and are continually faced with.Whether that is being under pressure under your sticks, conceding the first try, going a player down.

MacDonald further elaborates: There are so many ways we can be challenged with what happens on the pitch that I don’t think it necessarily means we have to lose a game. It is about trying to learn and how we respond and how we tweak that response to be even better the next time.

She also points out the competitive nature of training: Someone also has to lose training every week, so it’s not like we aren’t losing. We are certainly losing to each other each week in training. I don’t think there is a lack of opportunities to learn and develop without losing a game.

If England were to face a defeat in the upcoming tournament,it would likely be against either Ireland or France. Traditionally, the England-France match decides the grand slam, but France’s recent form has been inconsistent.Meanwhile, Ireland has demonstrated their ability to cause upsets.

Despite an 88-10 defeat against the Red Roses last year, Ireland has shown meaningful improvement. They are set to face France at home in the opening match of the 2025 Women’s Six Nations.After finishing third in the 2024 tournament, they achieved a notable victory against world champions New Zealand at WXV 1.

Ireland’s head coach, Scott Bemand, emphasizes a grounded approach: You can get a little bit carried away sometimes but we are going to stay grounded. We know exactly where we are,we know exactly where we want to go.

Bemand acknowledges the increased challenges: It’ll be harder for us this year than last year’s Six Nations because to some degree we were a little bit under the radar. People are now taking us a little bit more seriously.You lose the anonymity and now we have to do it with people seeing us as a bit of a threat. That is a class opportunity, especially with the Rugby World Cup on the horizon. To become a contender, we need to perform in big games.

Scotland, frequently enough overlooked due to slow progress, benefits from having Bryan Easson, the longest-serving current coach in the Women’s Six Nations, in charge as 2020. Italy and Wales, with new head coaches Fabio Roselli and Sean Lynn respectively, hope for a positive impact.Wales will travel to Scotland for their first match of the tournament.

The tournament will feature new regulations, mirroring those in the men’s competition, including 20-minute red cards and time limits for conversions (60 seconds) and scrum/lineout formations (30 seconds).Attendance records are expected to be broken, with a potential world record crowd anticipated at Twickenham for the England-France final game.

This year could be a turning point for the sport, culminating in a groundbreaking Rugby World Cup.