England opened the Women’s World Cup in style as they dominated the USA by a final score of 69-7 in front of a record crowd in Sunderland on Friday. The Eagles were overwhelmed by the Red Roses in the scrum and struggled to slow England’s ruck ball which inevitably led to overlaps out wide.
It was the set piece from the start that set the platform for England’s success. A methodical approach ended with Sadia Kabeya crossing on the back of a driving maul for the opening score at nine minutes. The second was more dynamic, with Abby Dow ripping back possession on a cross-kick from Megan Jones. Hannah Botterman’s barging run split two defenders and she fended off the cover to make it 14-nil at the 20-minute mark.
In the backdrop the Eagles lost Georgie Perris-Reading, who came off worse for wear after a thunderous carry up the middle from Jones. Freda Tafuna came onto the flank and soon after a rampaging run from Erica Jarrell-Searcy got the USA on the board. The powerful second row burst through the line and found another gear, swerving clear on a stunning 40-meter individual effort.
Celebrations were cut short when Alev Kelter was binned moments later for slapping the ball out of Natasha Hunt’s hand as she was pulling away from a ruck. England would score two tries before the midfielder returned. Maud Muir crashed over from short range, and then straight from the restart Ellie Kildunne worked a give-and-go with Dow with the former touching down. A promising USA attack just before halftime ended with Hope Rogers held up over the line to leave it 28-7 after 40 minutes.
The second half saw the Red Roses taking complete control. Dow crossed on the end of a multi-phase attack just two minutes in, and then Kildunne grabbed a double after a Zoe Harrison grubber eluded the Eagles defense. Botterman won a breakdown turnover that led to a try from Amy Cokayne on the short side of a lineout. A scrum penalty followed by a Tatyana Heard line break set up Jess Breach for an easy finish to bring up the half-century.
Lark Atkin-Davies was next to touch down, the hooker scoring England’s ninth try from a yard out after several phases. A handling error on attack by the USA gave the ball away and Kildunne regathered her own grubber, connecting with Breach for a superb end-to-end score. The final say went to Atkin-Davies, this time a conventional driving maul score for the hooker after the scrum had won another penalty.
Both teams now travel south and return to action next Saturday. England square off against Samoa in Northampton, while the USA turns their attention towards Australia in York.
ENGLAND 69
Tries (11) – S. Kabeya (9′), H. Botterman (19′), M. Muir (33′), E. Kildunne 2 (35′, 47′), A. Dow (42′), A. Cokayne (51′), J. Breach 2 (57′, 64′), L. Atkin-Davies 2 (60′, 75′)
Cons (7) – Z. Harrison 6/9 (10′, 20′, 34′, 36′, 48′, 61′), E. Scarratt 0/1 (65′), E. Sing 1/1 (76′)
USA 7
Tries (1) – E. Jarrell (25′)
Cons (1) – M. Hawkins 1/1 (26′)
YC (1) – A. Kelter (27′)
ENGLAND
1 Hannah Botterman (17 Kelsey Clifford 52′), 2 Amy Cokayne (16 Lark Atkin-Davies 52′), 3 Maud Muir (18 Sarah Bern 52′), 4 Morwenna Talling, 5 Abbie Ward (19 Rosie Galligan 62′), 6 Zoe Aldcroft (capt.) (20 Maddie Feaunati 61′), 7 Sadia Kabeya, 8 Alex Matthews, 9 Natasha Hunt (21 Lucy Packer 61′), 10 Zoe Harrison (22 Emily Scarratt 61′), 11 Jess Breach (23 Emma Sing 67′), 12 Tatyana Heard, 13 Megan Jones, 14 Abby Dow, 15 Ellie Kildunne
USA
1 Hope Rogers (17 Alivia Leatherman 65′), 2 Kathryn Treder (16 Paige Stathopoulos 65′), 3 Keia Mae Sagapolu (18 Charli Jacoby 58′), 4 Tahlia Brody (19 Rachel Ehrecke 52′), 5 Erica Jarrell-Searcy, 6 Kate Zackary (capt.), 7 Georgie Perris-Redding (20 Freda Tafuna 20′), 8 Rachel Johnson, 9 Olivia Ortiz (21 Cassidy Bargell 48′), 10 McKenzie Hawkins (22 Kristin Bitter 66′), 11 Bulou Mataitoga, 12 Alev Kelter (23 Sariah Ibarra 61′), 13 Ilona Maher, 14 Emily Henrich, 15 Lotte Sharp
Date: Friday, August 22
Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Kickoff: 19:30 local
Weather: cloudy, 61°F (16°C), wind NE 8-12mph (13-19km/h)
Attendance: 42,723
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Assistants: Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand) & Maria Heitor (Portugal)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
