Why 'muted' England's dominance prompts concern

Figure caption,

England run riot against Wales to maintain 100% start

Another day, another emphatic win for England.

The Red Roses jamboree roared into Bristol, attracting a record crowd for their third consecutive match at this Six Nations and bringing with it a sea of white shirts, red cowgirl hats and rose-petal headwear galore. And, most importantly, tries.

Fresh from crossing 12 times against Scotland at Murrayfield last week, England scored another 10 tries in a 62-24 victory over Wales - a result that leaves John Mitchell's side top of the table with maximum points from three matches.

With a fifth consecutive Triple Crown secured, they remain on course for a record eighth straight Women's Six Nations title.

Impressive statistics. But attack coach Emily Scarratt told BBC Two the dressing room was a little "muted" after the game.

Yes, England won comfortably and without ever losing control to extend their record unbeaten run to 36 Tests, but this wasn't the steamrollering many expected, with Wales - to use Mitchell's word - "surprising" them.

The visitors scored four tries - including two in the final 10 minutes as England's concentration wandered - to pick up a valuable bonus point, and twice profited after bamboozling England with their line-out routine.

England were, at times, guilty of poor discipline - giving away nine penalties - and sloppy handling. Improvements will need to be made by the time they face title rivals France in round five.

"You're always in a Test match when you play a team like Wales," said Scarratt. "I thought they really brought it today and posed some different challenges for us, which is pretty awesome in our development.

"We still got a pretty good job done. There's a muted sense in the group, which is obviously a really good feeling when you put a score on like that."

But while Wales fired a couple of warning shots, this was another routine win for England and one that does little to assuage concerns the Six Nations is too predictable and their dominance may not benefit themselves and the game.

England have won 37 consecutive Six Nations matches, with their most recent defeat against France in 2018. They haven't lost to another home nation since 2015, and both Scotland and Italy are yet to beat them in the six-team format.

During that run, they've scored an average of 53.4 points per match - conceding nine - and have kept teams to 10 points or under 26 times. Only six of their wins have been by a margin smaller than 20 points - all against France.

This year alone they've scored 179 points - including 27 tries - and conceded 43 despite missing more than a dozen players because of injury, pregnancy or retirement, producing a and leaving points unscored against Wales.