Between them they have 39 caps, but when new England coach John Mitchell paired them together for the round two match against Wales it was the first time they played together, in the first season in which they both featured in a Red Roses squad.
Emily Scarratt and Helena Rowland were the duo for England’s opening 48-0 win over Italy, though Jones came off the bench in the second half.
Against Wales Heard started and then came off after 65 minutes with Zoe Harrison replacing her as the Red Roses won 46-10. Mitchell made the same change at the same time in the 46-0 win over Scotland in Round 3, a match in which Heard regularly found herself playing at first receiver with the responsibility of setting the backline moving.
Jones, meanwhile, lit up social media when clips of her footballing skills to set up Ellie Kildunne’s second try went viral. Moreover, the pair is equally important in defence, with their centre partnership crucial to England not having conceded points in two of their matches.
“The best thing about Meg is she has an electric personality on and off the pitch and it is really exciting being around her,” Heard said. “Her vision of the game and the information she feeds in from 13 is what you want.
“She has the extra bit of flair that the fans love, and I love being on a team with her. You've always got to be on your toes with Meg but equally we've got Holly [Aitchison] at 10 who loves to play with a bit of flair as well and has so many skills in her pocket. So, you’ve always got to be on your toes with those girls in the backline.
“She definitely brings that energy and has that mindset that we are going to go and make dominant hits and we are going to get off the line because that's what we're capable of doing.
“The way Meg plays in general she has very high standards and she wants the best for us as a team. She drives that energy, she drives the passion, and it is definitely contagious.”
IRELAND COME TO CALL
Next up for the fledgling pair is Ireland, who travel across the Irish Sea to face the reigning champions at Twickenham in round four.
Ireland will go into the match in confident mood having recorded a 36-5 over Wales in round three to end a run of seven consecutive Six Nations defeat.
Scott Bemand’s side also came close to beating Italy in round two, and they are in good form. Young flanker Aoife Wafer is leading the charge in defence and attack, with two tries already, and she won the Player of the Round and Try of the Round awards after their defeat of Wales.
For Heard, there will be one or two familiar faces in the Irish side. Hooker Neve Jones and Sam Monaghan are Heard’s Gloucester-Hartpury teammates, though Heard was quick to assure folk that while they had caught up, the conversation mainly revolved around what the weather is like in Scotland.
“I think it's so good to see teams growing and they've got they've got their central contracts and they've got a real good setup at the moment,” Heard said. “We've looked at what we want to do this weekend going into it and we're really looking forward to the challenge.
“I think they’ve been developing across the year, and you saw how well they did at WXV3. To bring that into the Six Nations is massive for them and it's great to see how the game is growing."
HOMEWARD BOUND
England’s HQ is somewhere that the Italy-born and Yorkshire-raised Heard knows well, having won her second international cap there.
Appropriately enough, it came against Ireland in a 2018 Autumn International that the Red Roses won 37-15.
The match is the latest that England have hosted at their headquarters and follows on from their final match against France in 2023 when nearly 60,000 attended. So far 45,000 tickets have been sold with the Rugby Football Union anticipating more being sold in the run-up and on the day.
Heard has come a long way since that match in 2018. She was a starter against France at Twickenham in 2023 and, should she start against Ireland, her partnership with Jones is likely to be crucial to the Red Roses continuing their unbeaten run.
“I feel like I've learned so much since then,” she said. “I think I was very naive back at that point and thinking that everything was perfect and had to be perfect. I've got to the point that things are going to improve, things are gonna get better and the standard of the game has skyrocketed.
“We always want to put on a show no matter how many fans are there and we're really lucky and grateful that all those people are coming in to watch us. Last year, was huge but I think this year is going to be even better because we're just growing each week.
“It's really cool to see and really cool to be a part of, but I think there's so much more to come from the game. I think if you think about the fans that are coming in now, 45,000 people, 45,000 tickets sold. It's kind of hard to believe and you take yourself back to those moments and it just feels like a whole different ballgame. It's really exciting and I can't wait to hopefully be part of it.”
