England run in 12 tries as Kildunne sparks demolition of Scotland in Women’s Six Nations
The fortress walls of Murrayfield were finally at Scotland women’s disposal for their first standalone game at the stadium but England rocked its foundations with a statement performance that left fans questioning if the world champions had injury issues at all.The 30,498 crowd was a record attendance for a women’s solo sporting event in Scotland and they were largely silenced.Scotland were sloppy, conceding the most points against England since 2011 and they will have to be sharper when they face Italy in the next round.On the face of things England should be struggling on pitch with 13 of their Rugby World Cup-winning squad missing through retirement, injury and pregnancies but the Red Roses are demontrating their endless pool of talent at this Women’s Six Nations.The latest player to be given a baptism in international rugby was the 19-year-old Bristol Bears back-row Demelza Short.
The youngster, who was playing for England Under-18s just last year, started at blindside flanker with Alex Matthews injured and usual back-rower Abi Burton employed in the second row with England’s unavailability list including four locks.Short had a solid game but there was another forward who shone in player of the match Maddie Feaunati.The back-rower, playing at No 8 because of the injury to Matthews, was key in Ellie Kildunne’s opening try with a great line break.She also came up with a maul turnover and was the physical punch the Red Roses needed at times to launch attacks.Lilli Ives Campion also was a steady presence as the new lineout caller, backing up her performance at Twickenham against Ireland.
Scotland were shaky in defence and failed to capitalise on the front-foot ball they created but an area they were able to disrupt their opponents was at the scrum.The set-piece was a positive element to the hosts’ game, and they won multiple scrum penalties, particularly in the first half.The game was the first at home for the new head coach, Sione Fukofuka, and he was left in no doubt as to the gap he has to bridge, with Scotland conceding more than double the points than they did the last time the two teams faced in the World Cup quarter-final.Nothing will take away from what the team achieved off of the pitch, though, with a huge crowd at the home of Scottish rugby.The anthem highlighted what it meant to the players with the captain, Rachel Malcolm, peeking over her shoulder to look at the piper on the roof.
When the action got under way England were the first to score and it was thanks to the quick feet of Kildunne, who dodged a tackle from Rhona Lloyd after being fed the ball from a beautiful line break from Feaunati.Lloyd’s afternoon went from bad to worse as the England captain, Meg Jones, was the next to step her and run to the line for England’s second.Jones popped a kick through in round one for a sensational Jess Breach try and she carbon-copied the play for Kildunne’s second, which was the England star’s 50th try for her country.The prop Kelsey Clifford scored the bonus-point try in the 32nd minute before Lloyd outgassed Jess Breach to score Scotland’s try but Emma Sing had the last say of the first 40 with England’s fifth.The Red Roses underpinned their dominance with seven second-half tries.
The replacement prop Sarah Bern had two, to add to the two she scored last week, with the vice-captain Amy Cokayne, Sadia Kabeya, the former captain Marlie Packer, Haineala Lutui and the replacement wing Mia Venner all crashing over the whitewash.Scotland are travelling away in the next round to try to get their campaign back on course, while England will host Wales with general sale tickets sold out at Bristol’s Ashton Gate.Scotland will be a part of the next big milestone in this tournament when they travel to Dublin in the final round for Ireland’s first standalone game at the Aviva Stadium.Scotland: Rollie; Lloyd (Darroch 62), Wills (Scott, 44), Smith, Campbell (McGhie 48); Nelson, Brebner-Holden; Bartlett (Swann 58), Skeldon (Martin 61), Clarke (Poolman 58), Wassell, Cunningham (Bogan 48), Malcolm, Stewart (McLachlan 48), Coubrough.Try: Lloyd.
Con: Nelson.England: Sing, Breach, Rowland (Aitchison 62), Jones, Kildunne (Venner 62); Harrison, L Packer (Robinson 64); Clifford (Carson 52), Cokayne (Powell 52), Muir (Bern 52), Burton, Campion (Lutui 58), Short (M Packer 58), Kabeya, Feaunati.Tries: Kildunne (2), Jones, Clifford, Sing, Cokayne, Bern (2), M Packer, Kabeya, Venner.Cons: Harrison (11).Referee: Zoe Naude (SARU) Attendance: 30,498
Monday’s Mandelson showdown could be Starmer’s last stand | John Crace
On days like these you reckon the prime minister would have more chance of being believed if he had said the dog ate his homework. After all, it’s quite possible that Keir Starmer has not yet realised he doesn’t have a dog. His amnesia and lack of curiosity are a piece of performance art. Almost up there with Boris Johnson. Keir would probably take that as a compliment
Starmer was left in dark about Mandelson’s vetting by two other top civil servants
Keir Starmer was left in the dark about sensitive information relating to Peter Mandelson’s security vetting by two other top civil servants, including the head of the civil service, the Guardian can reveal.The prime minister said on Friday that it was “unforgivable” and “staggering” that senior officials did not tell him that Mandelson failed a security vetting process weeks before he took up his role as ambassador to Washington.Olly Robbins was forced out of his job as permanent secretary of the Foreign Office on Thursday after it was revealed his department granted Mandelson developed vetting clearance against the advice of the relevant agency.Now the Guardian can reveal that two other top civil servants, including the cabinet secretary, Antonia Romeo, failed to immediately notify him when they discovered that UK Security Vetting (UKSV) had advised that Mandelson should be denied clearance.The Cabinet Office maintains that there was no undue delay because the civil servants were engaged in a process of “expedited checks” aimed at informing the prime minister as quickly as possible
Peter Mandelson’s vetting and where the blame lies | Letter
The enormous controversy about the vetting process leading up to, and following, the appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador in Washington reveals a labyrinth within Whitehall and our constitution – which is a revelation even to those of us who have been in public life for over half a century (Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision, 16 April).Three quite separate elements can appear contradictory, but can all be true at the same time. So, Keir Starmer could have been entirely telling the truth at the dispatch box last September when he said that all processes had been followed.It can be true that all existing processes were followed during the vetting process, but did not lead to any report back to the prime minister or other relevant ministers, because it has not been standard practice to notify politicians following such procedures. Of course, Peter Mandelson was not a civil servant, and the “normal” procedure was therefore not relevant to him
What happens during security vetting and why did Peter Mandelson fail his?
After Keir Starmer announced Peter Mandelson as his pick to be ambassador to the US in December 2024, officials in the Foreign Office contacted him to organise the security vetting clearance process.As with almost all of the 8,000 officials working in the Foreign Office’s Whitehall headquarters, Mandelson required a level of clearance known as developed vetting(DV). This is necessary for individuals in roles that require frequent and uncontrolled access to material marked top secret.The vetting process is not carried out by the Foreign Office. It is done by security officials who work for United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV)
Olly Robbins and Mandelson’s vetting: what did he do, why – and who knew?
Fiddling with his reading glasses, the then cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald – sitting alongside the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins – suddenly appeared a little tense.The bonhomie evident in earlier answers had quite disappeared.It was 3 November 2025, and Peter Mandelson had been removed from his post as ambassador to the US two months earlier, after the disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails.MPs on the cross-party foreign affairs select committee were grilling the most senior civil servants involved in Mandelson’s appointment about the vetting and due diligence.Just over an hour in, Fleur Anderson, the MP for Putney, asked what can now be seen as a crucial question about the process: “In general, what is the end product of all that vetting? Does it all get put into one report? Who receives that report?”“The report is received by the employing department and employing line manager – in this case, that would be Sir Oliver,” Wormald responded, looking to his left towards Robbins
Five unanswered questions on Keir Starmer’s Mandelson debacle
Downing Street has tried to do a lot of explaining, as has Keir Starmer himself. But there are still plenty of things we do not know about how Peter Mandelson failed security vetting, and what the prime minister did or did not know about it.A fairly key question. Downing Street is clear: it is “staggering” that Mandelson failed vetting, and that the Foreign Office not only overruled this but told no one in No 10.However, Ciaran Martin, a former top civil servant with past involvement in vetting work – and a close friend of the ousted Olly Robbins – said this was an oversimplification
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