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England past played astatine Twickenham down closed doors successful the autumn of 2020| Venue: Twickenham Stadium Date: Saturday, 29 April Kick-off: 13:00 BST |
| Coverage: Watch connected BBC Two, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app; perceive connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and travel unrecorded substance commentary connected the BBC Sport website and app. |
Last clip England's women played successful beforehand of a assemblage astatine Twickenham, fly-half Katy Daley-Mclean shared a concealed dream.
"One time we tin aspire to capable it," she said earlier their 2019 gathering with Scotland.
More a vain supplication than a existent anticipation backmost then.
That day, conscionable implicit 13,000 of the 82,000 fans who had attended the men's crippled stayed connected to ticker for escaped successful the rainfall and the cold.
This weekend, Daley-Mclean's imagination takes a measurement towards reality.
More than 53,000 person bought tickets for England's Grand Slam-deciding crippled against France connected Saturday - their archetypal standalone Twickenham Test.
In 2021, the Rugby Football Union stated an purpose to capable Twickenham for the 2025 World Cup final. What seemed a agelong astatine the clip is surely successful the container now.
England centre Emily Scarratt was "a spot sceptical" astatine first, but playing successful the 2022 World Cup final successful beforehand of the existent world-record assemblage of 42,579 astatine New Zealand's Eden Park changed that.
"What we are going to spot now, I genuinely judge it [a sold-out Twickenham] volition happen," she told BBC Sport.
"It's massively exciting."
'We were told cipher wanted to watch'
If women's rugby has precocious since Daley-Mclean's 2019 dream, it is successful a antithetic beingness to erstwhile Giselle Mather played for England.
Making her debut successful 1990 and earning 34 caps successful the 8 years that followed, Mather played astatine a clip erstwhile England's women had their ain national and truthful played with a antithetic roseate connected their garment to the men's side. She had to wage for that garment herself too.
Playing astatine Twickenham was a dream, but ne'er a superior discussion.
"We utilized to play successful beforehand of 1 antheral and his canine and we were ever told, 'nobody other wants to ticker this'," says Mather, who is present manager of women's rugby astatine Ealing Trailfinders.
"They really do. It's a watershed infinitesimal for us."
Mather won the World Cup with England successful 1994 and the broadside celebrated highlights of their last triumph against the United States making it connected to BBC amusement Grandstand.
"We each stood unneurotic 20 minutes aft [the match] and determination it was, it was awesome," she recalls.
Now, each Women's Six Nations crippled is disposable to ticker unrecorded connected the BBC and each of England's matches successful the tourney are connected BBC Two.
"If I privation to crook my TV connected and ticker women's sport, I present person the choice," Mather says.
"If I privation to spell and ticker it live, I present person the choice.
"In the past, different radical made that prime for maine and decided that lone men's athletics would beryllium connected the TV, lone men's athletics would beryllium enactment into the large stadiums, ticketed and fixed the level and media sum to excel."
'Why not beryllium antithetic to the men?'
The increasing England crowds are nary accident.
Players person been connected full-time contracts since 2019 and England are apical of the satellite rankings.
Their beforehand has near a important spread with each different teams but France, but the Women's Six Nations has benefited since Covid-19 forced a determination into its ain model aft the men's tourney successful 2021.
Instead of hosting 10,000 successful an echoey Twickenham, the RFU started taking the Red Roses astir the state successful 2018.
Playing successful grounds from Doncaster to Exeter, England person built their fandom gradually. In 2022, a caller grounds attendance of 14,689 was acceptable successful Gloucester earlier 15,836 turned up for the adjacent crippled successful Leicester.
Now, adverts for Saturday's crippled are plastered connected London trains and roadworthy signs adjacent Twickenham pass of expected delays.
"I thrust up the M25 to Saracens 3 times a week and I'm ever seeing 'Twickenham traffic'," England skipper Marlie Packer reflects.
"To person that for a women's crippled and to cognize hopefully I'm going to beryllium a portion of that, it's 1 of those pinch-yourself moments."
The RFU person fixed the Red Roses their ain individuality too.
Sponsor O2 and the English national person funded a Sugababes half-time show for the France lucifer - targeting a antithetic assemblage to the Twickenham assemblage for men's Six Nations matches.
While men's games pull mostly antheral fans, Saturday's assemblage volition beryllium astir 50% female.
Tickets are much affordable for families too. The France lucifer is £5 for a kid and betwixt £20 and £30 for adults, compared with big prices ranging from £32 to £168 for men's matches, which are £22 for children.
"Why not beryllium antithetic to the men?" erstwhile England skipper Sarah Hunter asks.
"Having the Sugababes for the half-time amusement is class. It conscionable gives a antithetic magnitude for a women's game."
'Magical and breathtaking'
Both teams volition supply plentifulness of amusement too.
England and France person been playing exciting, fast-paced rugby and Hunter believes it could beryllium "one of the large games successful women's history".
"The shot is flying astir everywhere," Mather adds.
"We play the crippled differently. Not incorrect oregon right, but to excel successful our capabilities.
"The powerfulness crippled is determination but it isn't the beryllium each and extremity all. We determination the ball, we tally the ball, we footwear the ball, but we don't footwear it arsenic acold truthful it doesn't go the happening we bash each the time.
"It is simply a purer signifier of the crippled that possibly the men's crippled volition look astatine and spell 'this is wherefore I fell successful emotion with the game'."
Mather volition beryllium successful attendance with astir 700 different pioneers, each wearing caps they earned portion playing astatine a clip erstwhile women were not expected oregon encouraged to.
"I would spell to ticker the men's games astatine Twickenham and often dream," she says of her playing days.
"I nary uncertainty volition beryllium rather emotional. It's a beingness of commitment, effort and dedication connected my portion and thousands of others to spot what is going to hap astatine Twickenham, the location of rugby.
"It's going to beryllium the women that instrumentality that stage. It's magical and breathtaking."
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