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Unconvincing England open WXV 1 defence with victory against USA
England ran in nine tries to kick off their WXV 1 title defence with a 61-21 victory against USA, however the Red Roses were far from convincing in Vancouver.
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Lark Atkin-Davies, Ellie Kildunne (twice), Georgia Brock, Alex Matthews, Bo Westcombe-Evans, Morwenna Talling, Jess Breach and Ella Wyrwas all crossed the whitewash, while Zoe Harrison added 16 points from the kicking tee.
But this was not a vintage performance and there is much for head coach John Mitchell and his players to work on ahead of matches against New Zealand and Canada.
Mitchell had described his side’s performance in their final warm-up against the Black Ferns a fortnight ago as “patchy” and it was a similar story at BC Place.
Despite ceding territory and possession for much of the match, USA were able to gain some momentum as Alev Kelter (twice) and captain Kate Zackary breached the English defence to briefly cut the deficit to 12 points midway through the second half.
Defending champions England, although much-changed from the side that beat New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, were expected to win against opponents who started the day seven places and almost 22 points adrift of them in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings, and they dominated territory from the off.
That pressure told in the 12th minute as Atkin-Davies profited from a smart lineout move to score in the right corner.
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Harrison added an impressive conversion and it looked as though the Red Roses might canter into the distance as Kildunne went on a trademark slaloming run minutes later.
The electric full-back picked up the ball deep inside her own half and used the presence of debutant Westcombe-Evans to her right to step past McKenzie Hawkins and Bulou Mataitoga before straightening and beating the former again en route to the line.
Harrison slotted the extras once more but while England kept up their pressure on the American line they were unable to find a way over it.
And that allowed Kelter to give the Women’s Eagles hope of a comeback with nine minutes of the half remaining, with a moment every bit as magical as that produced by Kildunne.
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On a rare foray into the English 22 Kelter weighted the perfect chip over the defensive line before racing onto the bouncing ball and evading the attentions of both Jess Breach and Lucy Packer on her way over the whitewash.
Hawkins converted but the Red Roses reasserted their dominance at the end of the half with two quickfire tries that took the match away from their opponents.
The first of those came from an error from Kelter as the Olympian fumbled the ball on her own line, under pressure from Packer, and Brock pounced to grab her first Test try on her maiden start.
And England secured the try bonus point on the stroke of half-time as Player of the Match Matthews, in her first match as captain, glided through a gap and over the line with the clock in the red.
USA started the second half with real belief and breached the Red Roses defence inside four minutes of the restart as Kelter went over again.
Their momentum was stalled somewhat when Westcombe-Evans slid in to hold off the covering Mataitoga and mark her first cap with a try.
But Harrison’s conversion attempt struck the upright and there was the hint of a contest when USA captain Zackary came steaming through from an attacking lineout to score.
Hawkins added her third conversion of the night to make the score 33-21 but it signalled the introduction of the English cavalry and the Red Roses accelerated away in the final quarter.
Talling, Breach and Kildunne, again, crossed the whitewash before replacement scrum-half Wyrwas picked off an interception in the final minute to round off a comprehensive, if not totally comfortable, victory.
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Nine tries and unconvincing? Agree that it wasn't vintage but the expansive game that the Red Roses are trying to play can be error strewn and work needs to be done on the wide passing to ensure wingers keep their depth. There were though some flashes of brilliance. The debutants did not really put their hands up for starting positions and may not feature again this tournament. England conceded a try from a chip ahead when once again, like the BFs first try at Twickenham, the bounce of the ball went the attackers way. Kildunne tried it herself a few minutes later and just as it looked as if she would regather and likely score it bounced away from her. C'est la rugby.