The England Women's Rugby team is the best in the world at the moment, regardless of gender. It's not hyperbole or opinion, it's based on fact.
The side under Simon Middleton brings a remarkable winning streak into Rugby World Cup 2021 (played in 2022), winning their last 25 games.
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Current Men's world number one France is the highest current streak within tier one nations, enjoying a 10-game win streak since they were defeated by the Wallabies in July 2021.
It surpasses what Eddie Jones achieved with their male counterparts, tieing the All Blacks with an 18-game winning streak, starting at the 2015 Rugby World Cup until 2017 before their defeat to Ireland.
Cyprus claims the record for a men's side with 24 games playing in the third division of European Rugby but even that falls short of what England has achieved.
It's not just the length of the streak but just how dominant they have been since their last defeat in 2019 to New Zealand.
They have swept through the Six Nations, emerging from the past three tournaments (13 games, 2021 shortened due to COVID) with a points difference of +569.
This coupled with 31 and 41-point victories over the second-ranked Black Ferns in November last year set them apart as the team to beat.
It's a streak the Red Roses and captain Sarah Hunter cherish as the team continues to bond and get better.
“I don’t think it took us until 25 wins to get (the significance),” Hunter told Rugby.com.au
“I think some of the challenges along the way and as you play in Six Nations and Autumn clashes, you start to win games and build momentum. You start to spend longer as a group and you build those connections and friendships.
“For me, that’s when you realise something special is happening and it then becomes extra special when you get to moments like 25 wins in a row and it’s the most ever a Test team man or woman has won.
“I think that reinforces just how special the team you are involved in is."
The growth of English Rugby has been meteoric as the winning tally continues to grow, with their preparation for the World Cup picked up by English TV giants ITV as part of a two-part series called 'Wear the Rose: An English Rugby dream'.
Their success comes as the squad starts to show the benefits of professionalism, with 29 players under full-time contracts.
For Hunter, having started her career in 2007, the ability to watch the next generation of talent go straight into an elite program was a proud moment.
“We’re in the fortunate opportunity that this group can be a professional Rugby player and do it as their job,” Hunter admits.
“Some of the girls that play in the squad have only ever known being a professional Rugby player, they’ve gone straight from school into a professional program so they haven’t had to have anything else.
“It’s incredible that they now don’t have to worry about the stresses we had to in the past…I think it's great young girls watching Rugby can look and dream and say 'that’s what they want to do as a job'. When I was young, I didn’t even know there was a team and a World Cup.
“That’s something they can see and say I want to be the next Helena Rowland or Emily Scarrett and that will become the norm.”
A successful World Cup tournament will put the record past 30, establishing their claims as one of the best International teams in any sport.
However, they are refusing to get ahead of themselves with a date against France on the horizon in the pool stages.
Whilst the French sit fourth in the World Rankings, they have always given the English their toughest battles, falling by two points in 2021 after poor light caused a sudden halt to the game with nearly 20 minutes to go.
Hunter knows what a World Cup will do for their status and the sport in England, one of few remaining from their successful 2014 campaign, out to write their names in history.
“It would mean absolutely everything and that’s our goal,” she reinforced.
“We’re very process focused in the fact we’re got three pool games and we need to take each of them as they come, the pool finishes and then we’ll deal with the quarters if they come.
“As soon as you start to get ahead of yourself, complacency kicks in and that’s when you are not focused as you should be. That’s when where results could happen that you don’t want.
“We’re under no illusion this is going to be the most competitive World Cup yet. You look around at the preparation every team has had and they’ve had more time together in the build-up than ever.
“…It’s going to be a real challenge but we’ve set ourselves out that this is what we want to do, we want to top off that 25-games and really put ourselves down in history. We want to win the big shiny thing at the end.”
