Success for England in their Women’s Six Nations match against Scotland on Saturday will be measured on team cohesion and performance rather than the result, says Red Roses lock Abbie Ward.
England have not lost to Scotland since 1999, with John Mitchell’s side on a 23-match winning streak in all competitions.
Bryan Easson’s side were defeated 46-0 in Edinburgh by the Red Roses during last year’s Six Nations and come into the game off the back of a disappointing 25-17 home defeat by Italy.
“We know teams will always step up against us to knock us off. We are happy with that and take it in our stride,” Ward told BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly.
“England will always have pressure. It is not going anywhere.
“Success is not about results or points difference, it is about the performance.
“It is also about team cohesion. We’ve had some good results but also some sticky performances.
“We want to keep growing that team cohesion and the ability to grow our game plan.”
Despite three bonus-point wins to sit top of the Six Nations table, Mitchell’s side suffered a below-par first half in Cork last Saturday and led only 7-5 at half-time, but clicked into gear to score six unanswered second-half tries.
In England’s opening two convincing wins over Italy and Wales, despite controlling large portions of both games, they still had areas to improve on to put together a dominant 80-minute performance.
England were last defeated by New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup final in 2022, which ended their record 30-Test winning streak.
Ward, 32, was part of that loss and does not believe in the notion that the Red Roses are not tested enough before a home World Cup that starts in August.
“I heard something that England don’t get put under pressure and I laughed as I thought you don’t get to see us train,” the lock added.
“We put ourselves under pressure week in and week out. We are used to having our backs against the wall, training against each other is some of the fierce competition you can imagine.
“We are very used to being in that position.”
