England boss Middleton backs Ireland to close the gap

England head coach Simon Middleton believes Ireland can bridge the gap between themselves and the top table of women's rugby if those in charge give it enough "backing".

Middleton, who will step down as coach of the World Cup runners-up following next week's Six Nations finale against France, says the improvement made by Wales in the last two seasons have shown how quickly progress can be made.

The defending champions moved one step close to retaining their Grand Slam title with a comprehensive 48-0 win against Ireland at Musgrave Park yesterday.

While they scored eight tries and conceded none in a comfortable victory, it was a stuttering performance, particularly in the second half where they went almost 30 minutes between their fifth and sixth tries.

Middleton admitted to some frustrations with the performance, but the England boss extended credit to the hosts for the aggressive nature of their defence.

"Ireland were never going to give us anything today," he said.

The 48-0 scoreline fell some way short of the record 89-0 result some thought would be surpassed given Ireland's poor start to the campaign, something Middleton says he never believed was realistic.

"We knew we weren't going to win like that. I'm really pleased, we scored 40-plus points and that's a good score. We'd have taken that, we'd have wanted a better, more consistent performance to get it, but we got. That [record] was never going to happen. These girls are too proud, too committed, too well organised and too well coached for that to have happened.

"They're incredibly proud, very tenacious, stayed in the fight all the way and were really energised by the crowd and they forced us into playing a game we didn't want to play. We didn't work it out quick enough.