You could say the England and Saracens player is getting to know Twickenham from a different perspective. Breach and her England teammate Ellie Kildunne are the cover girls for Rugby World’s Six Nations preview edition, with the pair striking a pose around England Rugby’s headquarters in clothes that are a long way from their usual playing and training gear.
It means that her face will be one of the most familiar in the tournament by the time England kick off away to Italy in Parma on 24 March.
“It was really fun,” Breach said. “They approached Ellie to do a piece and she asked me if I could be the model.
“They asked about our friendship and how we’ve progressed through the Red Roses, and it is really good to see and really nice to have a different twist to something within rugby. It shows Ellie’s interests outside rugby, like fashion and it was really cool.”
While Breach admits that the day’s shoot was a fun way to spend time at England’s national rugby stadium, it shows how much the 26-year-old has grown in confidence since establishing herself as a key member of the Red Roses squad.
Breach has spoken in the past how concerns over her body image affected her ability to play and train to her best. She is proud of how she has overcome those concerns to accept that she needs to have a certain type of physique to play her best rugby.
“[I would have been] shocked that in five, six years that version of Jess was able and confident enough to do that,” Breach said. “You definitely grow as a person, and I think we’ve grown as a team and I’ve people around me that have given me that confidence.
“I know that I need to look and feel a certain way to do my job. That isn’t the way a model is meant to look, but that world or industry has changed, and it is really beneficial to young girls growing up that it doesn’t matter what size you are, if you want to be a model, you can be a model.”
FRIENDLY RIVALS
Breach and Kildunne are firm friends and regular Red Roses teammates. With Breach on the wing and Kildunne at fullback, the pair are used to linking up as part of the Red Roses’ back three.
In the coming seasons though there is a chance that they will become rivals for the number 15 shirt.
After saying goodbye to Kildunne and Harlequins to cross London and join Saracens in 2022, Breach made the move from wing to fullback midway through her first season, and while she has impressed with the number 15 on her back, she sees her international future on the wing.
“I think I’m not ready yet to play 15 internationally,” she said. “I’m really enjoying it a lot at my club, and it is something that benefits my game. When I go into camp for the Six Nations I’ll probably be looking to play on the wing as I’ve done in the first bit of my career.
“I’m not direct competition, though sometimes we joke about it, and I say I’m on her heels and she needs to get better. The more people that can play different positions and push people is really important. We all want to get better as individuals, but also as a team.”
WINNING RUN
Breach has been synonymous with scoring tries since she grabbed six on her debut against Canada, and another five on her second appearance.
Her ability to see a gap has been honed since she joined Chichester Rugby Club aged six, while the fact she competed nationally in the sprint hurdles means she has the pace to exploit a gap when it opens.
She can look back on the 2023 Six Nations with pride having started three matches, come off the bench in another and ended the tournament with four tries, three of which came in their final match against Italy.
Later in the year Breach featured in all three of the Red Roses matches as they won the inaugural WXV against the host nation in Auckland and added another two tries to her international tally.
On the club front though, there was disappointment as Saracens lost their hold on the Premiership Women’s Rugby trophy to Gloucester-Hartpury, a tussle that is being repeated with the same two teams at the top of the table.
LEARNING FROM THE BEST
As such there is likely to be a considerable Saracens presence when John Mitchell names his first Red Roses Six Nations squad since he took on the head coach role in October 2023.
Kelsey Clifford, May Campbell, Rosie Galligan, Sharifa Kasolo, Sydney Gregson, Sophie Bridger and Ella Wyrwas joined Breach in a three-day training camp in January, while the 2023 Six Nations Grand Slam, WXV, and World Rugby Player of the Year-winning captain Marlie Packer is likely to reach her century of caps on the opening weekend.
“It helps considerably, it is good we can build partnerships in our club and can take it with us to the international games,” Breach said. “We’ve got a lot of good connections in our backline and that makes it easier.
“Marlie is an amazing human, friend, and teammate, as well as a captain. She has grown in the captaincy. She knows previous captain Sarah [Hunter] really well and it is great that Sarah is still in the system to help.
“She’s playing some really good rugby, and it is really exciting to have her as captain to see how great the rugby she plays is.”
The Red Roses kick off their 2024 Guinness Women's Six Nations campaign against Italy on Sunday 24th March (KO 15:00 GMT).
