England wing Abby Dow promised a new ferocity from the Red Roses ahead of their clash with New Zealand next month.
The Black Ferns will take the pitch at the newly named Allianz Stadium in Twickenham for the contest that sees the current world number one ranked side host the reigning world champions less than a year out from the 2025 World Cup in England.
It is part of a bumper international period that also sees the Red Roses take on France at Gloucester’s Kingsholm before the sides meet again in the WXV competition in Canada in October.
The fixture is billed as a friendly, but Dow insisted there will be no holds barred as England look to get up to speed ahead of the defence of their WXV title, before they target a third World Cup title in the same stadium next year.
“We are playing with a new intensity, we are playing with a new mindset,” said Dow.
“Hopefully we will see that on the pitch where sometimes you can think a certain moment is important, right now we are bringing that to every single second we are on the pitch. It is important to us, and we want to be the best in the world at it.
“The fact that we have been given the reins to go out and do it ourselves is why you saw so much creativity. There have been no restrictions since then, so we will continue to play in this creative mindset. What we have brought in this pre-season is a new ferocity about that mindset. Instead of saying this is a great opportunity, everything is an opportunity.
“I had never really appreciated how many more one-percenters there are that you can achieve.
“[Head coach] John Mitchell is really experimenting with those one-percenters because there is so much you can grow physically, there is so much you can grow mentally as a player as well. He is pushing in new ways, and we are finding new holes.”
That Dow is so ebullient about the improvements England have made following a ‘brutal’ pre-season will be a cause for concern for their upcoming opponents.
The Red Roses arrive off the back of yet another Six Nations triumph, their first under Mitchell, who ushered in a more free-flowing style of play.
That came following victory in the inaugural WXV competition, sealed with victory over the Black Ferns in New Zealand in partial revenge for defeat in the World Cup final a year prior.
Another victory against their rivals, in front of a packed-out crowd at Allianz Stadium, would inspire even greater confidence but Dow knows nothing is won in a friendly, not matter how competitive it may prove.
“The game is really important, but we always talk about things in cycles,” she added. “We are going to be playing two of the hardest teams just before we go out to WXV and a year out from a World Cup.
“It’s not necessarily a game where the importance is winning, but it’s the importance of winning the next year after it. Know what your weaknesses are, learn what your strengths are, develop yourself as a team and try new things here.
“In a World Cup, you have got to be on it, you can’t be learning, you can’t be developing yourself. This is the opportunity that we are going to see how well we can play together in those critical situations and how we can learn from them. It’s a really exciting opportunity.
“There is pressure but not as much pressure as there will be in a year’s time. Now is the time to explore and a team that explores, you will notice the creativity that a team can bring when they are allowed to explore.”
Allianz recently pledged a long-term commitment to rugby through a multi-year partnership with the Rugby Football Union. See the Red Roses take on the Black Ferns at the newly named Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on the 14 September. Head to ////EnglandRugby.com/Tickets to secure your tickets!
