| England: (20) 60 |
| Tries: Hardcastle 2, Hoyle, Beevers, Stanley 2, Owen, Roche, Renouf, Bennett, Rudge Targets: Stanley 8 |
| Wales: (0) 0 |
Lacey Owen loved a dream debut as England ran in 11 tries in opposition to Wales at Headingley.
England, taking part in solely their second match since dropping within the World Cup semi-final to New Zealand final yr, dominated the sport, Amy Hardcastle and Tara Stanley scoring twice.
It was a special occasion for Owen, who scored moments after approaching as a second-half interchange.
The match was performed as a double-header with England males’s Check in opposition to Tonga.
It’s a part of a weekend of three England internationals, with the World Cup-winning wheelchair facet dealing with France in Leeds on Sunday.
England opened the scoring after 9 minutes from their first first rate transfer of the match, working the ball left the place Hardcastle scored in acres of house.
Hardcastle, who was one among England’s most spectacular gamers of their run to the semi-finals of final yr’s World Cup on house soil, was in equally vibrant type and doubled the hosts’ benefit.
Georgia Roche evaded the Wales defence and arrange the left centre completely to attain.
The third strive got here from Shona Hoyle, barrelling over between the posts after good play by captain Jodie Cunningham who was incomes her thirtieth cap.
Wales have been unlucky, defending on the fifth sort out when the ball ricocheted off the shoulder of Hoyle. The referee deemed {that a} knock-on from the Welsh, and England took benefit.
England have been lowered to 14 gamers when Vicky Molyneux – making her ultimate look earlier than retiring from worldwide rugby – was sin-binned for a excessive sort out.
However after withstanding Welsh strain, they scored a fourth strive earlier than half-time – and once more it was largely all the way down to Hardcastle.
She broke away and ran virtually the entire size of the Headingley pitch, solely to be tackled on the final, with Georgia Beevers selecting up the free ball to attain.
Tara-Jane Stanley, who transformed seven of the tries, acquired a rating of her personal shortly after the restart – earlier than Owen was launched for her huge second, diving over from Stanley’s cut-out go.
The seventh strive was arguably the perfect of the bunch, Roche promoting a beautiful dummy and slaloming via beleaguered Wales defenders, earlier than Stanley, Tamzin Renouf, Keara Bennett and Emily Rudge added to a profitable afternoon for England.
England high quality trumps Wales’ effort
This victory, as comfy as anticipated for England, ensures coach Stuart Barrow maintains his 100% successful report since taking cost following the World Cup.
After seeing off France 64-0 in April’s mid-season worldwide, they have been equally dominant right here in opposition to a Wales group taking part in solely their ninth full worldwide.
Wales battled exhausting however have been too open defensively and never medical sufficient in assault, with dealing with errors twice costing them try-scoring alternatives late within the first half after Molyneux’s yellow card.
It was a bruising lesson for Wales in additional methods than one – within the scoreline and course of play.
They have been pressured into two concussion replacements within the first half, firstly to captain Shaunni Davies after a sort out from Hardcastle which was later upped to a everlasting interchange.
Brogan Evans, who had come off the bench, was additionally pressured off for evaluation after Molyneux’s excessive and hefty problem.
In the end, Wales’ effort was no match for England’s high quality. Scrum-half Roche, a part of the Newcastle Knights facet which secured back-to-back NRLW titles in Australia, ran the sport in midfield.
One disappointment was the scale of the group, the hope being that by taking part in this instantly earlier than the ultimate males’s Check a bigger viewers can be attracted.
Final yr there was a report crowd at Headingley for the World Cup opener in opposition to Brazil of 8,621. The decrease standing of this sport, mixed with gray and freezing climate in Leeds, meant the attendance was nowhere close to that till the second half when spectators arrived to observe the lads’s match.
Response
England coach Stuart Barrow: “We have been disenchanted with the primary half. We had issues to repair at half-time however the women responded rather well to what we advised them and appeared extra like we wished to in the beginning.
“Wales actually introduced it to us and challenged us and our scrambled defence confirmed our dedication to one another so I used to be happy with the trouble and software of that. We simply needed to repair just a few issues for the second half.”
On the contribution of the retiring Vicky Molyneux: “She has been distinctive to the badge all through. All you need to do is depart the shirt in a greater place and he or she has accomplished that. The group will miss her however the kids she has performed in opposition to will come via.”
Wales head coach Tom Brindle: “We knew the scale and scale of the problem that we have been arising in opposition to in England however I’m massively happy with our women. For big intervals of that, we competed. It will likely be good for us to study from that.
“A few of our execution ought to have been higher. We have been attending to the suitable locations so hopefully they’re simpler fixes.”
Line-ups
England: Stanley, Partington, Renouf, Hardcastle, Beevers, Jones, Roche, Hoyle, Bennett, Wooden, Molyneux, Rudge, Cunningham
Interchanges: Peach, Whitfield, Hornby, Owen
18th participant: Davies
Wales: Burnell, Michael, Norkett-Morgan, Salter, Taylor, Marsh, Parker, S Jones, Reardon, Carr, H Jones, Mundy, Davies
Interchanges: Worth, Evans, Jenkins, Gibbons
18th participant: Boaler
