England looked unstoppable in winning the title last year but
France and
Italy could threaten while
Ireland,
Scotland and Wales may show benefits of restructuringThe Women’s Six Nations begins with one big question lingering over it: can anyone lay a glove on England? Grand slam champions in 2019, with 45 tries scored and a points difference of 233, Simon Middleton’s team also had the best individual players. The fly-half Katy Daley-Mclean scored the most points and the wing Jessica Breach the most tries (there was no female player of the tournament; that accolade will be introduced for the first time this year).
![Chasing pack hoping to close the gap on England in Women’s Six Nations | Paul MacInnes](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9882e288f04479cfc22d055a440560e424e4b921/0_194_5298_3179/master/5298.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdG8tZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=66778af3632f96e2956ab559e9a461de)
Since then
England have enjoyed a dominant autumn and can also boast they have the world’s best player in their ranks: Emily Scarratt, who received that accolade in November. The strength of the 15-times champions, whose players are full-time professionals unlike most of their competitors, does not bode well for their opponents and some may also say the competition itself. But the ominous news is Middleton is looking only for improvement in 2020.