Jess Breach pauses in mid-flow, caught by a double take. The Red Rose speed queen rarely slows down in a rugby sense these days, but is stopped momentarily in her tracks by the sight of herself on the Twickenham big screen.
One minute Breach is animatedly explaining how she relishes acting as an unofficial sprint coach to her England team-mates, the next she reflects on the Red Roses’ ever-growing role model status.
Rudimental’s ‘Feel the Love’ blasts out over the Twickenham public address system to accompany a Red Roses highlights reel.
Just before England host Ireland in the Women’s Six Nations in front of more than 47,000 fans on Saturday, the finishing touches are being carried out at the west London stadium.
Breach and company are fresh from a training session on the hallowed turf, and it is a surface that looks like carpet that turns the conversation to speed.
“The grass is pristine, and quite different from other surfaces,” Breach tells Standard Sport. “Every time you walk out of the tunnel here, even if it’s not on a match day, it’s amazing.
“The Twickenham pitch is actually one of my favourites. The groundsmen are keeping it very pristine, it’s special grass, and it’s a very quick, wide pitch which is obviously very helpful for us speedsters.
“Compared to some other surfaces, you can definitely run faster here. Under new coach John Mitchell we are evolving our game plan and part of that is playing with width and pace, which is music to the ears for someone like me.”
We want to be the best team in the world, and everyone would openly say that
Just as free-running as she is scoring, the 26-year-old wing Breach has been integral to England since taking a full-time Red Roses contract in 2019.
A junior hurdler who broke through with Harlequins and then the international Sevens programme, Breach’s profile is soaring along with the Red Roses and the fast-increasing focus around the women’s game.
As that Red Roses try montage beams around Twickenham, Breach takes stock of changing times.
Asked if she will ever get used to seeing herself on screen, Breach laughs and replies: “No, I mean, no. I actually love watching highlights reels though, of the games.
“I think it’s fun watching our best bits. When we’re maybe in a tournament, if we walk around Twickenham then people might recognise us.
“That can be cool, but what is really amazing was when we played at Twickenham against France last year in front of 58,000 people.
“The bus ride in was incredible, the amount of people who were there when we arrived was crazy. We’d never experienced anything like that before, so to have something similar this weekend against Ireland is huge.
“It is a nice balance to be able to go about your business otherwise out of the rugby context. I think it would be tough being constantly recognised.
“After the game against Wales in Bristol, we could all go home after that game. But my boyfriend was getting dinner with his friend who lives in Bristol, by the hotel, so I just joined them.
“I sat down and we were next to some fans who had been at the game. They didn’t want to interrupt but I could hear them saying, ‘oh that’s Jess, oh my God, as if she’s sat next to us while we’re eating’.
“When we’d finished eating they asked for a photo which of course they could. That was pretty surreal to be honest.”
If England are still getting used to the attention, they are quite comfortable with setting the highest possible standards.
Determined to be the world’s best and claim World Cup glory on home soil in 2025, Breach also revealed how she is happy to provide the hints and tips on sprinting technique to her squad mates.
“We have two speed sessions a week, one more on agility and the other on top-end speed,” she explained.
“Then in the off-season it’s really important to get technique and raw speed back.
“Everyone does it, and because I’ve done that kind of thing for a long time through my athletics background, I really enjoy helping everyone else.
“It’s great if people ask for a few tips or check certain things, then they come back with big gains.
“We don’t shy away from where we want to get to, and all these things feed into that, when we’re working to get better.
“We have been a good team for some time, but we want to be a phenomenal team.
“We want to be the best team in the world, and everyone would openly say that.
“We all want to get better and be the best individuals that we can as well as the best team.
“We all work really hard, and hopefully we can have that opportunity to lift the trophy in 2025.
“I would say we’re quite humble, but we also want to be the best, and we openly say that.”
