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England victory over Scotland at the Women’s World Cup 2019 on Sunday was the most watched women’s game of all time in the United Kingdom.
The opening fixture in Group D, played at Nice’s Allianz Riviera stadium and broadcast live on BBC One, attracted a peak audience of 6.1m viewers.
Around 38 per cent of the available television audience witnessed Nikita Parris’ controversial penalty and an Ellen White goal earn England a 2-1 win and all three points.
Scotland, who scored a late consolation through Claire Emslie, will hope for a positive result against Japan on Friday to boost their chances of reaching the knockout stages.
The 6.1m audience was around 2m stronger than the previous record, for a 2017 European Championship semi-final between England and the Netherlands on Channel 4.
Show all 30 1 /30England vs Scotland player ratings England vs Scotland player ratings ENGLAND: 15-Mike Brown Busy game, his best for a while, not least for his left-footed kicking option. Equalled Matt Perry’s record as most-capped England full-back (36). 7/10
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England vs Scotland player ratings 14-Anthony-Watson Frustrating day at the office. Did little wrong but not as involved as he should be. Still learning the Chris Ashton-style tracking skills. 6
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England vs Scotland player ratings 13-Jonathan Joseph Wonderful early try when he came short off Ford and jinked past Hogg for his fourth try of the tournament. Looked a class act once again. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 12-Luther Burrell Failed to trust his left-hand pass in first minute, butchering a try. Not hitting the heights of last year but offers a physical threat.
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England vs Scotland player ratings 11-Jack Nowell Relished the open spaces with ball in hand but blew a try and got sucked in too easily defensively. Still a work in progress at this level. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 10-George Ford Threatened Scotland throughout with his delayed passes on the gain-line. Ghosted through for valuable try soon after the break. 8
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England vs Scotland player ratings 9-Ben-Youngs Improvement from Dublin. Took more responsibility and varied his game well around fringes. Holding off Wigglesworth’s challenge. 8
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England vs Scotland player ratings 1-Joe Marler Penalised more than once at the scrum but, after 10 successive starts, has plenty of credit in the bank. 6
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England vs Scotland player ratings 2-Dylan Hartley His lineout arrows were slightly off. He remains under fierce pressure for the No 2 shirt from Tom Youngs. 5
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England vs Scotland player ratings 3-Dan Cole Lucky to avoid yellow card for his goal-line lunge at the ruck. His discipline was a bit loose but put in good shift at the scrum. 6
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England vs Scotland player ratings 4 -Dave Atwood The Bath man is always a force in the maul and scrum but still needs to do bit more around the park. 6
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England vs Scotland player ratings 5-Courtney Lawes Big impact on his first appearance since the autumn. Prominent in lineout and put constant pressure on the Scots, as Russell can testify. 8
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England vs Scotland player ratings 6-James Haskell Questionable whether he is doing enough to fend off Wood’s challenge for the No 6 shirt. His forward pass denied Brown a second-half try. 6
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England vs Scotland player ratings 7-Chris Robshaw As consistent as ever. Stuart Lancaster’s fear must be whether the skipper can keep going at full throttle until the World Cup is done. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 8-Billy Vunipola Scotland kept him under wraps pretty well. Like Robshaw, no doubting his engine. His power from standing start is wondrous at times. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings SCOTLAND: 15-Stuart Hogg Saved Scotland three times with his last-ditch tackles on Burrell and Brown during the early English siege. 8
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England vs Scotland player ratings 14-Dougie Fife Will be pleased with his efforts after coming in for Sean Lamont. Did not look out of place and made crucial try-saving tackle on Nowell. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 13-Mark Bennett Looks set for a long spell in the No 13 shirt. The Glasgow centre took his try well and shows terrific composure for a 22-year-old. 8
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England vs Scotland player ratings 12-Matt Scott Flew out the line to provide Joseph with his fifth-minute try. First Test start for a year and looked like it. 6
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England vs Scotland player ratings 11-Tommy Seymour Forced to switch from right to left wing and coped efficiently. Honours even with his battle with Watson. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 10-Finn Russell Good touches though did not enjoy the close attentions of Lawes and Co. But Scots must keep the faith - he can get a back-line moving. 6
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England vs Scotland player ratings 9-Greig Laidlaw Raised the tempo when called for. The experienced No 9 is a vital presence in such a young back-line. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 1-Alasdair Dickinson Tends to fade in later part of the match but his lineout work is as good as at any time in his career. 5
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England vs Scotland player ratings 2-Ross Ford Tends to fade in later part of the match but his lineout work is as good as at any time in his career. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 3-Euan Murray Equalled Allan Jacobsen’s caps record for a Scottish prop (65). The former Lion still has plenty to offer, in the set piece at least. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 4-Jim Hamilton Brought in by Vern Cotter for his physicality and strength in the maul and he didn’t let his coach down. Is a more disciplined player these days. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 5-Jonny Gray Scotland’s captain-in-waiting according to some. A menace in the lineout and shows maturity beyond his years – he was 21. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 6-Robert Harley Possibly shaded the battle of the blind-sides. Likes to annoy opponents and generally succeeds. 6
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England vs Scotland player ratings 7-Blair Cowan Earning an unwanted reputation for conceding penalties, but he remains a key cog in this side. One of the best turnover merchants around. 7
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England vs Scotland player ratings 8-David Denton Gave Scotland a good ball-carrying outlet and more bulk in the tight exchanges. Decent performance before giving way to Beattie. 6
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Audiences are expected to grow further if both home nations qualify from Group D, with England head coach Phil Neville confident of progressing far in the tournament.
“I want us to play like we did in the first half for 90 minutes,” Neville said after the victory, played in front of a crowd of 13,188.
“We need to be relentless now as we want to be here for the next 37 days and to do that then every single one of us, myself included, have got to keep driving the standards all the time. The standards start with me.”
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