Arizona Tribune - World champions England still 'unfinished' ahead of Six Nations, says Mitchell

England are on a record run of 33 consecutive wins since losing the Covid-delayed 2022 World Cup final to tournament hosts New Zealand.

They were dominant in winning last year's World Cup on home soil, convincingly beating an impressive Canada side 33-13 in the final in front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 82,000 at Twickenham.

But with usual skipper Zoe Stratford and Abbie Ward both pregnant, and Emily Scarratt and Abby Dow now retired, England coach Mitchell has named seven uncapped players in his 38-strong squad.

And he believes the injection of new talent into the Red Roses set-up will help ensure there is no lack of motivation.

"You start again," Mitchell told AFP in an interview at the Women's Six Nations launch in London on Wednesday.

"We start fresh. We start from zero. It's a new squad, new team," added the former coach of his native New Zealand's men's All Blacks.

"What we did last year was very, very special. Now we've got a chance to look at all the opportunities that are unfinished. So we've got a lot of young athletes who are still unfinished in their game. The way we want to play the game is unfinished."

The 62-year-old is keen to branch out from a forward-orientated power game, relying more on dynamic backs such as former world player of the year Ellie Kildunne and Jess Breach, as well as new captain Megan Jones

"We won a World Cup in a particular way. It wasn't pretty, but I think we've got world-class attacking players," said Mitchell.

"I'd like to see players get in the game more and I think we can certainly look to attack better space when it's available."

Mitchell, whose side begin their Six Nations title defence against Ireland at Twickenham on April 11, added: "I think the speed of execution can get better as well, so it's exciting what we can build."

France have been England's closest European challengers in recent seasons and staged a stirring fightback at Twickenham last year before the Red Roses prevailed by just a single point, 43-42, to seal a fourth consecutive Grand Slam.

Les Bleues, who won four of their five Six Nations matches last season, then suffered yet more England heartache in a 35-17 World Cup semi-final defeat.

France go into this Six Nations under a new coach in Francois Ratier, who guided Canada to the 2014 World Cup final that the North Americans lost to England.

"It's not beating England. It's to take care of ourselves first," Ratier told AFP.

"We have a new staff, a new project, so we have to focus on ourselves first."

W.Stewart--AT