Saracens' Marlie Packer reckons resurgent England can cap a rousing rise from playing in front of ‘a couple of hundred people and a dog’ to being crowned world champions at a sold-out Twickenham.
The Red Roses romped to a fifth TikTok Women’s Six Nations title on the spin with a 38-33 win over rivals France in front of a world-record 58,498-strong crowd in south-west London.
Talismanic captain Packer, 33, racked up a whopping 26 tackles as the hosts clinched another Grand Slam title to end Simon Middleton’s era as head coach on a high.
England will host the World Cup on home soil in 2025 and Packer believes the meteoric rise of the women’s game will reach a capacity crescendo on the biggest stage of all.
“I can remember a couple of hundred people and a dog watching us – but to sell over 58,000, it’s been absolutely incredible," she said.
“In 2025 the World Cup is here at Twickenham – we will sell it out and we want to be world champions.
“The crowd was with us every step of the way and it’s been amazing. I hope you all want to come back and watch us because we’re only growing as a squad.”
Packer, Abby Dow, Alex Matthews, Zoe Aldcroft and a penalty try saw England run riot in the first half.
Les Bleues launched a bold fightback after the break but Lark Davies’ fifth and final try fired the Red Roses to a convincing victory.
“I’m so proud and the girls put everything out there," added flanker Packer.
“I’m super proud of this squad, every player has played a part to get us to this Grand Slam – it’s amazing.
“France came at us after half-time, they did in the first half as well in the first 15 minutes or so.
“We knew we were going to have a tough day, a tough game on our hands, they’ve grown over the tournament and full credit to them they played to literally the 80th minute and kept on asking questions of us.
“They’ve been amazing and thanks to them for such an epic game.”
Skipper Packer also paid tribute to departing boss Middleton and hailed his lasting legacy.
“He’s been amazing,” she added. “He’s been around for a decade now and not just what he’s brought to the Red Roses, but also women’s rugby, has just been amazing.”
*For all the latest TikTok Women’s Six Nations news, information, and details on how to watch the Championship, visit: https://womens.sixnationsrugby.com/
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