Red Roses storm past Australia after early scare

England 48-15 Australia, Salford

The Red Roses recovered from a rare half-time deficit to beat Australia 48-15 in their WXV Global Series opener at the CorpAcq Stadium in Salford.

Australia led 10-5 at the break after a strong defensive first-half display. The Wallaroos scored through a Samantha Wood penalty and a converted Faliki Pohiva try, while England’s only first-half points came when Abi Burton crossed during Wood’s spell in the sin bin.

It was the first time England had trailed at half-time in seven years, but the hosts responded with seven second-half tries to extend their unbeaten run to 39 matches.

Australia Take Early Control

Australia struck first after England were penalised for holding on, with Wood kicking the penalty to make it 3-0 after four minutes.

England thought they had responded quickly through captain Meg Jones, but the try was ruled out after review because she was offside from the charge down.

Australia’s control was disrupted when Wood was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. England used the extra player to hit back, with Sadia Kabeya passing inside for Burton to score from close range. Holly Aitchison missed the conversion.

Back at full strength, Australia thought they had crossed through Brittany Merlo, but the try was ruled out for sealing off at the lineout. The Wallaroos later made their pressure count when Pohiva powered over after a lineout steal. Wood converted to give Australia a 10-5 half-time lead.

Red Roses Take Over After Break

England came out with greater urgency in the second half. May Campbell finished from a lineout maul seven minutes after the restart, and Aitchison converted to put the Red Roses 12-10 ahead.

That try changed the contest. England then produced a ruthless attacking burst, with Jones, debutant Bryony Field, Mia Venner and Kabeya all crossing during a dominant spell.

Australia’s task became harder when Eva Karpani was sent to the sin bin for an infringement in the build-up to Venner’s try. Zoe Harrison’s kicking helped England move 34-10 ahead with less than 20 minutes remaining.

England Finish Strongly

Replacement scrum-half Lucy Packer added another try from close range, and Harrison converted to stretch the lead to 41-10.

Karpani returned from the sin bin and gave Australia a second-half response when she crashed over from the back of a lineout, but it was only a consolation.

England had the final word through Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, who showed her pace on the edge before Harrison landed a fine touchline conversion to complete the 48-15 win.

England next face Canada in Exeter on September 19 before meeting New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on September 26.