Thousands will descend on Bordeaux\u2019s Stade Atlantique on Sunday to watch the Women\u2019s Six Nations grand slam decider between France and England, among them the New Zealand legend Ruby Tui. The World Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist, who has been working for the BBC as a pundit, says she would love to see the French come out on top in Le Crunch to end England\u2019s seven-year trophy hold.<\/p>\n
Tui attended her first Six Nations match in round one of this year\u2019s competition at Twickenham, as England took on Ireland. The match felt like an extension of the World Cup party for the 34-year\u2011old, who witnessed last year\u2019s groundbreaking event through her media duties. The Red Roses will want to deliver the same outcome as that final last September and if they did so they would extend their Six Nations winning run to 39 games in a row and become the first team to win the tournament after claiming the World Cup<\/a>. But Tui is backing the women in blue.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely, I am definitely going for France,\u201d Tui said. \u201cI can\u2019t go for England. I am not allowed to. France lost by one point<\/a> [in the Six Nations decider] last year, that was crazy. It is well and truly up to France. That quarter-final against Ireland at the World Cup<\/a> kind of summed them up. They were 13-0 down at half-time and turned around and won 18-13. The way they play, it is very much a roll of the dice.<\/p>\n \u201cThey could beat England and I think England know they are looming there in the background. But also if England sorted out all of their attack and defensive systems they have, France won\u2019t have a chance. I am very happy it is coming down to a banger in Bordeaux.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a few French players who I thought would give Zoe Harrison a run who are out so it will be a big ask but the last country to do it was France in 2018 and we need someone to stop this seven, eight run. So fingers crossed France [can do that].\u201d<\/p>\n France know they must find a way to keep Zoe Harrison quiet if they are to have a chance against England. Photograph: Tim Rogers\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Players such as Gabrielle Vernier and Joanna Grisez are out for France but England have been contending with worse. The Red Roses have more than 10 players unavailable to them through injury or pregnancy but they have continued to win, and for Tui that is proof they are a world-class team.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cThe only way to test if your systems are what they truly are is by chucking in debutants, third- and fourth-string positionals coming through, which is what is happening. What happens is you have your team and you have your bench but the most interesting thing to me is the next layer down: the travelling reserves, the players in camps \u2013 those are the standards that you can\u2019t let slip.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is hard because there is no one there that is experienced, they are all brand new. So what are they doing in camp? Are they keeping up the standards?<\/p>\n \u201cAre they living and breathing the systems because people think it is about the starting team but you can\u2019t put the pressure all on them. You have got to have these guys carrying. If you want this 37 [game\u2011winning run] to turn into 67 you need that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Tui has also been impressed by the crowd numbers across the tournament and says she did not expect England to be able to continue their attendance momentum quite in the manner they have. She also credits the individual players for being a huge draw for supporters wanting to go to games.<\/p>\n \u201cI am in awe of what the players are doing,\u201d Tui said. \u201cWe often look at everyone else and what they can do more but it is hard to imagine what more the Red Roses themselves could do. [They are] doing all of these amazing things that we as the Black Ferns didn\u2019t even think of. I am learning so much from being here.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the game needs personalities, characters. We need people to follow it. But to me they are more than personalities, they are turning up for things and they are putting in hard work, they are really present. I am really glad I didn\u2019t know this when I was playing them because I wouldn\u2019t have been able to get angry on the field at them so easily! The game needs them but they are doing above and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n Ruby Tui (centre) celebrates after New Zealand beat England in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final match at Eden Park in Auckland in November 2022. Photograph: Brett Phibbs\/PA<\/p>\n