England off to a flyer in 11-try Women’s Rugby World Cup mauling of USA
Outside chatter of a Rugby World Cup favourites tag and expectations on a team can only go so far, the Red Roses had to go out and prove it on the pitch.The host nation more than lived up to their hype as they kicked off their campaign in front of a record crowd for an opening game at a women’s World Cup with a hugely dominant display against the USA which has underlined their ambitions for the World Cup crown.The prop Hannah Botterman and the centre Megan Jones were standouts in a good team display and the scary thought for their future opponents is that the performance was far from England’s best.Handling errors were at the heart of the sloppy areas for the Red Roses but the hosts were commanding at scrum time which got them out of jail on a few occasions.When their attack did click nothing could stop them, the best try of the 11 coming with Botterman’s clever line run in the first half.
But before a ball was thrown, the city of Sunderland had been buzzing all day in the buildup.Heading to the stadium there were USA fans in hot dog outfits, while England supporters donned scarves and cowboy hats.The hats are becoming synonymous with the Red Roses thanks to Ellie Kildunne and Jones’s try celebration which the 42,723 fans had to wait until the 35th minute to see, as Kildunne scored her first try.There was a showbiz start with the opening ceremony including pop star Anne-Marie but it was clear who the rugby superstar was with a huge cheer for Ilona Maher, the USA outside centre and the most followed rugby player on social media, when the teams were announced but England’s Kildunne also registered deafening applause.It was a cagey opening few minutes with both teams’ first attacks thwarted.
England found their opportunity through a scrum penalty with the first set-piece punch thrown by the hosts and a simple catch and drive was executed to make the openside flanker Sadia Kabeya the first try-scorer of this World Cup.The next try was a piece of rugby brilliance.Jones picked a cross-field kick which Abby Dow managed to recover and recycle, Botterman ran an expert line to splice the defence open and the huge roar from the prop which followed showed what it meant.With England in the driving seat every small win the USA gained, if it was disrupting a lineout or winning a breakdown penalty, they celebrated wildly.Maher had said in a pre-match conference that the USA can be their “own worst enemies” at times and that was definitely the case in this Pool A match.
Miscommunication between USA captain Kate Zackary and the wing Bulou Mataitoga led to a sure try being fumbled but a piece of individual skill by Erica Jarrell shortly after put the USA on the board.The fly-half McKenzie Hawkins’ conversion counted but she cut it close, with the hooter from the countdown sounding just after her kick attempt.The USA then took another hit with Alev Kelter sent to the sin-bin for cynical play.England took advantage of being a player up after Maud Muir powered over the line despite resolute defence from the USA.The stadium came to life next with supporters on their feet as Dow broke down the right before feeding back inside to Kildunne.
England were cooking and not just in attack as they held up a try at the other end of the pitch just before half-time.Sign up to The BreakdownThe latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewedafter newsletter promotionThe momentum was firmly England’s but it seemed the Red Roses wanted more from their performance with the leadership group, including captain Zoe Aldcroft and vice-captain Natasha Hunt, remaining on the pitch for a few minutes before heading into the changing room.Dow found the try line to open the second half scoring with a Jones charge down resulting in an excellent finish from Kildunne a few phases later.The USA could not get a look in with Botterman coming up with a breakdown penalty which then resulted in the hooker Amy Cokayne crashing over.Very aptly the song to play in celebration was I Just Can’t Get Enough by Depeche Mode and the Red Roses couldn’t with the wing Jess Breach next over.
England continued to be relentless with replacement hooker Lark Atkin-Davies over and then Emily Scarratt entered the pitch for her fifth Rugby World Cup, becoming the first England player to reach that many.Scarratt, who won the World Cup in 2014 and made her first appearance at the tournament in the home 2010 competition, took over kicking duties after replacing Zoe Harrison but missed her kick when Breach crashed over for her second try.The scoring was rounded off by Atkin-Davies to complete the Red Roses’ 28th consecutive win.The Red Roses machine is moving and it looks deadly in their pursuit of the trophy they haven’t won since 2014.Next up for England is Samoa, while the USA face Australia in what is now a must-win game in their own Rugby World Cup campaign.
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