England storm into Rugby World Cup quarter-finals as Breach leads Samoa rout
In a David v Goliath match, the giants England won a brutal encounter against Samoa which displayed the disparity between nations as 11 of the Red Roses shared 14 tries in a colossal win.Half of Samoa’s squad had to fundraise to be able to attend this Rugby World Cup with no contracts in place, and some have taken unpaid leave from their jobs to represent their country.England, on the other hand, have been a professional outfit for more than five years and have now swept aside their opponents in 59 of their last 60 matches, that one loss coming in the last World Cup final.Among the try scorers as England reached the quarter-finals was the hat-trick heroine Jess Breach, and the first try was a special one for the 27-year-old as it was her 50th for her country.Breach is only the fifth Red Roses player to score 50 tries, after Sue Day, Nicky Crawford, Emily Scarratt and Marlie Packer.
The centre Meg Jones got on the board twice, and had not been in the starting XV at the beginning of this week, but an injury to Scarratt led to her promotion.The Cardiff-born centre’s contributions across the pitch were outstanding as her prowess in an England shirt only grows.Another bright spark for England was player-of-the-match Helena Rowland’s kicking from the tee.From the tries she missed only three, but slotted kicks from every angle, with her performance potentially leading fans to want her to be starting in the No 10 shirt for the rest of this tournament; Zoe Harrison and Holly Aitchison are also vying for the place, but Rowland’s versatility across the backline is likely to mean she will operate at 23 to cover any potential injuries or tactical changes.There was an air of unfamiliarity between the two teams, the last time they faced one another coming in 2014.
None of the Samoan players had competed against England before, while Natasha Hunt and Packer were the only Red Roses in the matchday 23 in thatteam 11 years ago, which led Abi Burton to say in the build-up England were expecting Samoa “to throw the kitchen sink” at them, which was definitely the case.Samoa’s physicality was their biggest strength, with huge hits throughout the encounter.Half an hour before kick-off the rain started, and was off and on all match, perhaps adding to the amount of handling errors.Despite play not being the cleanest at times, it took less than three minutes for England to score, and Jones ran a great line to go over.The wing Breach scored next, with the prop Sarah Bern and Jones again having the bonus point wrapped up in the 16th minute.
For the fifth try England’s scrum pack demolished Samoa’s before the No 8 Maddie Feaunati pounced on the rolling ball.The hooker Lark Atkin-Davies then got in on the action and the scrum-half Lucy Packer was next over.The hairs on the back of everyone’s neck in Northampton stood up as the stands came alive when Samoa entered their 22 for the first time in the closing moments of the first half, but England managed to turn them over with the half-time score 47-0.BBC viewers were treated to an interview with Lioness legend Chloe Kelly, who was in attendance supporting England.The second half began with Samoa winning a scrum penalty and they opted to kick for the posts.
The fly-half Harmony Vatau slotted the kick to score their first World Cup points in 11 years.Samoa didn’t qualify in 2017, withdrew from qualification for the 2021 tournament because of the pandemic, and drew a blank against Australia last week.It was arguably the moment of the match with the entire team having their hands in the air and roaring in celebration, among the loudest cheers of the afternoon.Sign up to The BreakdownThe latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewedafter newsletter promotionEngland: Sing; Breach, Jones (Harrison 64), Shekells, Moloney-MacDonald; Rowland, L Packer (Hunt 64); Clifford (Carson 54), Atkin-Davies (Campbell 54), Bern (Muir 54), Campion, Galligan, Burton, M Packer, Feaunati Tries: Jones 2, Breach 3, Bern, Feaunati, Atkin-Davies, Packer, Clifford, Carson, Rowland, M Packer, Moloney-MacDonald Cons: Rowland 11Unused subs: Talling, Kabeya, KildunneSamoa: Wright-Akeli; Lasini, Pouri-Lane, Makisi (Ah-Cheung 51), Fiafia (Curry 58); Vatau, Afuie (Lealu 51); Aiolupotea (Tauasosi 52), Nonutunu (Leuta 63), Aiono (Losefo 32), C Onesemo-Tuilaepa (Jamie Iva 56), D Onesemo-Tuilaepa (Sio 40), Atonio, Pauaraisa, Foaese.Pen: VatauReferee: Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZ)Attendance: 13,615England were soon back in the driving seat with Kelsey Clifford scoring and Breach next over.
The Red Roses were their own worst enemies for the next period with fumbled lineouts and knock-ons thwarting more tries, but they scored again through the replacement prop Mackenzie Carson before the fly-half Rowland, the captain Packer, Breach for her hat-trick and the wing Claudia Moloney-MacDonald rounded off the scores.Another benefit for England is that it seemed the team came through the 80 minutes without injury, though Jones and Feaunati needed on-pitch treatment.Women’s rugby is no doubt growing, as evidenced by the 13,615 fans in the stands, but this game once again shows the huge gap that needs to be closed between nations.For now England march on, with their final pool opponent being Australia next Saturday, while Samoa take on the USA.
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