Packer

Packer had initially considered retiring at the end of this season, although she had not shared these thoughts with others.

She said a conversation with England head coach John Mitchell, where he “posed a good couple of questions to me”, helped her refocus.

And with no contract on the table at Saracens, Packer had to act.

“I’m more of a proactive instead of a reactive kind of person,” she said.

“Now I’ve got [son] Oliver and a mortgage, so I got in touch with Harlequins just to see if the door was open.”

Before Quins head coach Ross Chisholm had met with Packer, he attended the Red Roses’ training and was impressed with the former England skipper’s attitude and impact on the group.

“We just had quite an open conversation,” Packer added.

“He said, ‘I really loved how you trained with the Red Roses [and] actually seeing you in training, you’re someone that would be a really good fit for Harlequins’.”

With Packer impressing for England in the Six Nations, picking up player of the match awards against Wales and Italy, she knew that, once the tournament concluded, she had to “make some life choices”.

As she returned to Saracens, it was made clear by head coach Alex Austerberry that there was still no new deal for her, so she decided it was time to move on.

And with her partner, fellow England World Cup winner Rosie Galligan, pregnant, and their son Oliver settled at a nearby school, there seemed one obvious option.

“The fact that Harlequins was only 20 minutes down the road, the fit just seemed to be perfect,” she said.

During this tournament, she has been able to lean on Meg Jones a little more to lift her mood.

Like the new England skipper, Packer was born and raised in Wales. The pair will occasionally swap a word or two of Welsh, a reminder of home and family.

“We have just some funny phrases that no-one else really understands, but it really makes us laugh,” says Packer.

“She’s very good at making things quite light and I’m probably the opposite – I make it quite serious.”

There is plenty to be serious about when they face France in Bordeaux.

Given England’s home run at the 2025 Rugby World Cup, WXV’s sparse crowds and an expected record attendance at the 42,000-capacity Stade Atlantique, it is likely to be the most hostile environment the Red Roses have played in since that fateful defeat in Eden Park in 2022.

The streak of 37 straight wins England have put together since is in definite peril.

But, beyond her notes and focus points, there is something else, less easily defined, that bolsters Packer amid the stress.

“As a team we are all overly critical of ourselves, but there is a bond that’s really important to us,” she says.

“The biggest thing is how tight we are as a group – and that just really carries us through.”

Packer, her team and that togetherness will be tested.

But the scrum-half, book smart, street smart and quick smart at the breakdown, can pass most things.