England v Scotland: How Red Roses steamroller opposition off line-out

Hooker Atkin-Davies won the first of her 71 caps more than a decade ago.

“I have scored quite a lot of tries off the back of a maul,” she says.

“My first role though, the most important thing, it to throw the ball accurately [into the initial line-out].

“As a hooker you have quite a habitual process – you will see I spin the ball a lot in my hands before the throw, that is part of my process.

“Then I join the back of the maul and, first and foremost, push as hard as I can.

“Depending on the set-up of the opposition, we might be looking to twist and find a weakness, but mostly it is about making sure we are tight and going forward.

“The girls in the front of the maul do a lot of the work, while at the back, our variety means sometimes we have a flanker on the ball, sometimes a hooker.”

Asked about the number of different variations for driven line-outs England have in their arsenal, Deacon replies coyly “a lot”.

His team revealed one in the win over the United States. With 50 minutes gone and the Red Roses 40-7 up, England front jumper Zoe Aldcroft caught a line-out eight metres out from the American line.

As the USA braced themselves for a shove, Kabeya and second row Morweena Talling instead peeled round into the narrow blind-side channel, linking up with hooker Amy Cokayne, who went in at the corner.

Those trick plays are essential. For England’s strength can, conversely, also be a weakness.

Such is their forward power and the usual slickness of their line-out, that the Red Roses have previously leaned on the line-out drive too heavily.

In the last play of the previous Rugby World Cup final in 2022, England, trailing New Zealand by three points, had a line-out five metres out from the Black Ferns line.

Everyone in Eden Park knew what was coming next and Atkin-Davies’ throw to Abbie Ward was disrupted to spark wild celebrations.