England produced a clinical performance to beat Scotland 40–8 in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final, setting up a last-four date with France next weekend.
But the Red Roses coach was left fuming at Scotland’s tactics, claiming the winning margin should have been much bigger.
“We dominated territory, built pressure and when we found a weakness, we went for the jugular,” he said.
“What I don’t understand is when teams are so cynical and we don’t get awarded penalty tries. We’ll go through the right channels and get some clarity on that. There were repeated infringements at scrum time and the game deserves better than that.
“Look how dominant we were, in maul and scrum — we were just superior and we should be rewarded for that.”
Mitchell confirmed star full-back Ellie Kildunne was back in training after last week’s concussion and ready for France, who looked far from dominant in their narrow last-eight match with Ireland in Exeter.
When the sides clashed in the Six Nations earlier this year, England won by a single point — the closest score in the Red Roses’ record-breaking streak of 31 unbeaten games.
“We’ve got a clean bill of health now,” added Mitchell. “Ellie is back running and into collision work and everything is good.
“Every week is tricky but we’ve got pretty clear plans. We just need to trust our preparations and get them right.
“I saw bits of France’s game against Ireland but they’ll be better for us — and we’re looking forward to them as well.”
What a performance 👏
Congratulations to Morwenna Talling on being named the @Mastercard #POTM after a defiant display in Bristol#RWC2025 | #Priceless | #ENGvSCO pic.twitter.com/vPBie1UPBL
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 14, 2025
Losing a match is one thing, losing your livelihood is something very different indeed. So, it’s perhaps no surprise that the tears that flowed as Scotland’s Rugby World Cup campaign ended had a double meaning.
This 38-strong squad have spent the last few months together with this tournament as their sole focus. However, it is expected that only 15 will be centrally contracted ahead of the new season — a cruel cut this team do not deserve.
Scotland had been urged to summon the spirit of Braveheart in a quarter-final where the odds always appeared stacked against them. But this Battle of Bristol was ultimately no Bannockburn.
“We’re at a pivotal point,” said captain Rachel Malcolm.
“We’ve had a core group for ten years and it feels like we are on the crest of something special. We’ve shown what we can achieve with support.
“I don’t want the support to decrease but continue. We need to keep driving on and challenging and use this as a springboard.
“We’re all in unique situations. There’s a risk of losing players and we don’t want that — we need to keep our players in the game. Those losses will have an impact, but we need a core to build and grow and that’s what I’ll be pushing for.”
No player, male or female, has captained Scotland more times than Malcolm. At 34, she remains one of the best flankers in world rugby, but her biggest contribution is her voice — a passionate advocate for more support from the Scottish Rugby Union.
“People can look at my date of birth and say it’s time to hang up my boots, but pushing this team forward remains my goal and I’ll continue to fight to take this team to the next level,” she added.
“I don’t know if that’s up to me, it’s not in my control, but this team is my everything.
“We always knew this was a tough ask. We’ve taken huge steps forward across the last four games. We’ve shown what we can achieve with the right support. This is just the beginning.”
Shining through the storm 🌹#RWC2025 pic.twitter.com/r8NUzvx0mn
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 14, 2025
Bryan Easson will now step down as Scotland coach, having guided his team from 11th to fifth in the rankings and back to the World Cup knockout stages.
After spending a quarter of a century working in various roles in Scottish rugby, he insists he won’t be retiring — but it is clear there remains a significant disconnect between him and SRU officials.
“Three years ago, we were a 100 per cent amateur team, now we’re fifth in the world,” he said.
“That doesn’t happen by accident, you need to invest and look after players. You can’t just stop that; you need to keep building on it.
“We shouldn’t look at this as the end of something but the start. This World Cup has moved the women’s game forward so much but we must keep moving at the same speed. I think there is a recipe for success with this team.
“One goal was to reach the knockout stages and we’ve shown the growth in this group with our performances against Wales and Scotland. This is a special group of people and we’re hugely disappointed. We wanted to cause an upset and we had belief we could.”
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