England power past USA to start World Cup with dominant victory
Player of the Match Ellie Kildunne chipped in with two tries for England
©Photo by Morgan Harlow - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images
As opening acts go, this particular script was pretty much followed to a tee.
A record crowd of 42,723 packed inside the Stadium of Light, fervour fizzing through the Wearside skies and England firmly centre stage.
Without a doubt, John Mitchell’s side would have felt the weight of expectation to deliver on night one - and that was evident in a far from polished first 40 in Sunderland - but in the end, England showed why they are the dominant force they are.
It is the way the Red Roses have looked since losing to New Zealand in the last World Cup final. Apart from a couple of tight scorelines over the last three years, they have frequently overpowered their opposition, and tonight was no different.
58 wins from their last 59 matches stresses that point even further, as braces from Ellie Kildunne, Jess Breach and Lark Atkin-Davis as well as tries from Sadia Kabeya, Hannah Botterman, Maud Muir, Abby Dow and Amy Cokayne saw the Red Roses complete mission one of their World Cup quest.
USA, to their credit, battled well in the first half with Erica Jarrell-Searcy sprinting over, but England, as expected, had too much for them after the break.
In the week, Mitchell spoke about the World Cup throwing up curveballs, but tonight, his side were able to bat USA out of the park.
It wasn’t full bells and whistles in the opening 40 from England, though. Three handling errors in 12 minutes perhaps suggested those first-game nerves were present, but the Red Roses were able to shake them off.
In the midst of a disjointed start, flanker Kabeya was able to signal England’s intentions. Mitchell singled her out post-match as a shining performer and she disrupted a breakdown early on, carried hard and was rewarded by scoring the first try - created by a strong scrum and then a dominant lineout.
The set-piece, as followers of the Red Roses will know, has been such a weapon for them in recent years, and the scrum provided the platform for England’s second.
Dow then collected a cross-field kick and fed the excellent Botterman, who cut a gorgeous line to surge over.
Credit to USA, they weren’t just going to let England dictate. Ilona Maher’s athleticism tried to spark the Eagles and after a half break from Loughborough Lightning’s Bulou Mataitoga, the winger fed Sale’s Jarrell-Searcy who charged over on 24 minutes.
However, any US momentum was curtailed when Alev Kelter was sinbinned for cynically slapping the ball out of Mo Hunt’s hands.
England immediately went on the offensive scoring 14 points. Two penalties and two kicks to the corner, despite some valiant USA defence, resulted in Muir rumbling over from close range.
Straight from kick off and with a player advantage, World Player of the Year Kildunne finished a flowing move after being fed by Dow. Fly-half Zoe Harrison made it four from four from the tee.
And as they so often do, England then took control as the USA's intensity - which was there in the first half - faded away.
A couple of tidy offloads in midfield allowed the impressive Meg Jones to burst through before Tatyana Heard flicked it out wide to Dow for the Red Roses' fifth on 42 minutes.
Jones was again involved shortly after. Following a grubber from Breach, the centre charged down a clearance kick which ended with Kildunne mopping up the loose ball to juggle over.
Cokayne was next on 52 minutes, profiting from a smart lineout move, before Breach got in on the act thanks to some unselfish play by Kildunne.
From the bench, Atkin-Davies - who scored in England's WXV1 win over USA back in September - got England's ninth before Emily Scarratt was introduced to appear in a fifth World Cup; the first English player, male or female, to do so.
The Red Roses kept their foot on the pedal, and Kildunne showed why she is the world's best.
USA made 17 phases before being turned over. A break from Kildunne from inside her own 22 and then some brilliant footballing skills allowed her to feed Breach for her double, with Atkin-Davies finishing things off with a second try five minutes from time.
England: Kildunne; Dow, Jones, Heard, Breach; Harrison, Hunt; Botterman, Cokayne, Muir, Talling, Ward, Aldcroft (capt), Kabeya, Matthews.
Replacements: Atkin-Davies, Clifford, Bern, Galligan, Feaunati, L Packer, Scarratt, Sing.
United States: Sharp; Henrich, Maher, Kelter, Mataitoga; Hawkins, Ortiz; Rogers, Treder, Sagapolu, Brody, Jarrell-Searcy, Zackary, Perris-Redding, Johnson.
Replacements: Stathopoulos, Leatherman, Jacoby, Ehrecke, Tafuna, Bargell, Bitter, Ibarra
More to come.
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