England Women’s young hopefuls take on France on February 23 at Esher and aware of the ever-improving standard of international rugby, Bennett is seeing a continuing improvement in her squad.

In fact the Under-20s set-up has proved to be a rich breading ground for future senior stars with the likes of Hannah Gallagher and Alexandra Matthews having made the transition to the Elite Playing Squad in recent times.

And with a point to prove in a series where England also travel to France on March 15, Bennett expects the encounter this time to be far closer – banking on her side’s improved physicality to make a considerable difference.

“Losing three times against France last year was deeply disappointing and even though we reduced a 50 point deficit in February to a six point deficit less than a month later, we know that the England U20s have got to work that much harder as playing on the international stage is getting tougher every year,” said Bennett.

“Since last season we’ve focused on the basics – something all world class teams do - and making sure the squad have the physical capacity and physicality to compete. We are looking forward to playing France again and start this year’s campaign on home soil so a big performance from each player is what we all want.

“It’s important to remember that winning games is one measure of success and the U20s programme is just as focused, if not more so, on individual performance development.

“Players such as Ceri Large, Amber Reed, Alex Matthews, Fiona Davidson and Hannah Gallagher have all won full caps for England since 2011 which means the England U20s is delivering at the top end.”