World record women’s rugby crowd will flock to Twickenham on Saturday for England’s Six Nations decider with France…with up to 60,000 fans in charge of Simon Middleton’s final game
- England will host France in the Women’s Six Nations decider on Saturday
- A world record crowd of up to 60,000 fans planned to attend the Twickenham clash
- It also marks the last game in charge of England head coach Simon Middleton
History will be made at Twickenham on Saturday as a world record crowd for a women’s international watch England’s Grand Slam decider with France.
An attendance of nearly 60,000 is expected for the Six Nations final.
It will be a confirmation that the extraordinary growth in the women’s game of recent years shows no signs of slowing down.
More than 53,000 tickets have already been sold for the showdown with the RFU in hopes of significant sales ahead of kick-off.
The previous record attendance for a women’s international was last year’s World Cup final between England and New Zealand, when 42,579 spectators gathered at Auckland’s Eden Park.
A world record attendance for a women’s match will mean France against England on Saturday
The Six Nations final is expected to draw nearly 60,000 fans to Twickenham Stadium
Signs around Twickenham have been warning of significant delays on Saturday ahead of the French game for weeks. It promises to be a great opportunity.
The Sugababes provide entertainment at half-time, but the focus for England will be on the pitch as they look to send off outgoing head coach Simon Middleton with a second successive Six Nations clean sweep.
The French game will be Middleton’s last in charge of the Red Roses. He led England to a remarkable 30 games unbeaten and his side won the last four Six Nations.
World Cup final defeats to New Zealand in 2017 and 2022 were the only moments of desperation in one of the most successful eras in English rugby history.
“I’ve been extremely lucky to have been able to do what I’ve done with the players and staff I’ve worked with,” said Middleton, whose assistant Scott Bemand is also leaving.
“We recognize that we are coming to the end of a chapter in our lives. We’ve always been working on performance from week to week and hopefully that has contributed to our success over the years.
“It’s been the same this week. The size of the game has been a huge distraction to everything else. Everyone is just totally focused on that.
‘We hoped that the (women’s) game would come to this. We weren’t sure it would become as big as it is, but the team and the competition have captured the public’s attention.
‘People want to come and see us and that is very exciting. It’s going to be an incredible show and we’re really looking forward to it.’
England are a firm favorite and will be supported by a terrifying home crowd.
The Middleton players have taken special measures in training to prepare to play for such a large attendance, something they are not used to.
France, like England, is also undefeated in 2023 and is going for a Grand Slam.
Head coach Simon Middleton leaves his post after the game, with his England team favourites