England's Red Roses Win 38 Straight Rugby Matches

England's women's rugby team just did something almost unimaginable in professional sports: they won their 38th straight match without a single loss.

The Red Roses, as they're known, defeated France 43-28 on Sunday to claim their eighth consecutive Six Nations championship and fifth straight Grand Slam. What makes this even more remarkable? Twelve of their usual 23-player roster are either pregnant or injured, yet they keep winning.

"People always say: 'Oh, you've got this winning streak!' We never really mention it as a group, which is a bit crazy, I guess," captain Meg Jones told reporters. Some team members actually lose count of their victories.

The team's only loss in the past seven years came in 2022 during a heartbreaking Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand. That defeat ended a 30-game winning streak, but the Red Roses bounced back stronger than ever.

Sarah Bern, a prop who has lost just three games in her 10-year international career, credits the team's success to one crucial factor: investment. England introduced full-time professional contracts for women players in 2019, becoming the best-paid women's rugby union team in the world.

"As fierce as we are on the pitch, we 100 percent want to show to everyone that if you invest in women, they can perform," Bern said. "They just need equal opportunity, equal access, equal funding."

The numbers back her up. The Rugby Football Union invested £15 million into the women's game in 2024 and plans to double revenue to £60 million by 2030. Meanwhile, last year's World Cup finalists from Canada had to crowdfund just to participate in the tournament.

The Ripple Effect

The Red Roses' dominance is changing perceptions about women's sports worldwide. Ruby Tui, who played for New Zealand in their 2022 World Cup victory over England, called their current run "systematic dominance" and praised how they're succeeding despite missing so many key players.

The team's focus isn't on preserving streaks or avoiding losses. Instead, they concentrate on perfection in every detail, driven by coaches and veterans who remember past heartbreaks from tiny errors.

"I guarantee you the one thing about this team is if they lose once, they definitely won't be losing twice," Bern said. "We are pushing for perfection, even though we know we'll never attain it."

Their success proves a simple truth: when women's sports receive the same support as men's, extraordinary achievements follow.