England always have pressure to perform - Ward

Guinness Women's Six Nations: England v Scotland

Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium Date: Saturday, 19 April Kick-off: 16:45 BST

Coverage: Watch live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and online, listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, live text and video highlights on the BBC Sport website and app

Success for England in their Women's Six Nations match against Scotland on Saturday will be measured on team cohesion and performance rather than the result, says Red Roses lock Abbie Ward.

England have not lost to Scotland since 1999, with John Mitchell's side on a 23-match winning streak in all competitions.

Bryan Easson's side were defeated 46-0 in Edinburgh by the Red Roses during last year's Six Nations and come into the game off the back of a disappointing 25-17 home defeat by Italy.

"We know teams will always step up against us to knock us off. We are happy with that and take it in our stride," Ward told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly.

"England will always have pressure. It is not going anywhere.

"Success is not about results or points difference, it is about the performance.

"It is also about team cohesion. We've had some good results but also some sticky performances.

"We want to keep growing that team cohesion and the ability to grow our game plan."

Despite three bonus-point wins to sit top of the Six Nations table, Mitchell's side suffered a below-par first half in Cork last Saturday and led only 7-5 at half-time, but clicked into gear to score six unanswered second-half tries.

In England's opening two convincing wins over Italy and Wales, despite controlling large portions of both games, they still had areas to improve on to put together a dominant 80-minute performance.

England were last defeated by New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup final in 2022, which ended their record 30-Test winning streak.

Ward, 32, was part of that loss and does not believe in the notion that the Red Roses are not tested enough before a home World Cup that starts in August.

"I heard something that England don't get put under pressure and I laughed as I thought you don't get to see us train," the lock added.

"We put ourselves under pressure week in and week out. We are used to having our backs against the wall, training against each other is some of the fierce competition you can imagine.

"We are very used to being in that position."

Earlier this month, Bristol Bears announced Abbie's husband and head coach Dave would be leaving after four years in the role.

Former Harlequins forward Ward took over at the Premiership Women's Rugby club after an eighth-placed finish in 2020-21 and guided them to four successive semi-finals, with one final among them.

He will return to Championship side Ampthill, where he was prior to his time at Bristol as a player-coach, now as head coach.

"It won't settle in until the advert is out for the new head coach and someone new arrives," Ward said.

"But it will be the end of an era after working together for the past four years which has had some challenges but on the whole has been amazing.

"As his wife and a player, I am hugely proud for what he has done in the women's game. Sometimes when you are constantly pushing for things to be better and standards, it can be tiring.

"Dave has been relentless in doing so and he didn't always have to be that person but he was. He just wants the best for the women's game.

"It will be a huge loss to the women's game but he will still be an advocate."