Warriors Women’s Alex Mathews came off the bench for the Red Roses as they defeated Italy 54-0 in Parma to claim back-to-back Women’s Six Nations Grand Slams.
Matthews initially came off the bench in the first half as injury cover for Marlie Packer, before entering the fray just after the break as England proved too strong for their Italian counterparts.
Having already been confirmed as champions last weekend, England ran in eight tries for a bonus-point win to secure a record 15th Grand Slam to go with their 16th championship win.
The result means that England’s men and women teams have both secured the 2020 titles, Warriors’ Ollie Lawrence featuring for Eddie Jones’ side on Saturday evening.
Sunday’s triumph in northern Italy was just reward for Matthews, who has made an immediate impression for Warriors Women in the Allianz Premier 15s this season. Making the switch to Sixways during the summer, the tenacious back-row has led by example both on and off the pitch and will now be keen to go from strength-to-strength with the Olympics and the World Cup in sight.
Lydia Thompson also deserves a mention, the pacey wing having played in England’s 66-7 victory over Wales back in March. Thompson was ruled out of the Red Roses’ opening three rounds of fixtures due to injury. Thompson has also recently returned from a rib injury and trained with Simon Middleton’s set-up in the build-up to this weekend’s clash.