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Ellie Kildunne scored a whirlwind hat-trick in the space of nine minutes on her 50th cap as England thumped Wales in front of a record crowd in Cardiff. The full-back, who won her first cap in 2017, has now scored 39 tries for the Red Roses and at 25 years old there is a lot more to come from the World Rugby player of the year.
Kildunne, who has lost two games in an England shirt, had been kept largely quiet in the first half that seemed to inspire an impressive performance in the second 40 where she sliced through the Wales defence like butter.
She was not the only to shine as Maddie Feaunati had another storming performance to underpin her player-of-the-match outing against Italy last Sunday.
The centre Meg Jones, making her first appearance of this Six Nations, also had an impressive match. She had an added layer of emotion to this game too as she was making her first England appearance since both of her parents died and she capped it with a phenomenal solo try.
It has been a decade since Wales have had the bragging rights against England in the Women’s Six Nations and another dominant performance from the Red Roses ensured the hosts’ wait would continue. England were far from their best, which is a frightening prospect for their future opponents as they were still able to run in 11 tries. Handling errors were the main cause of frustration for John Mitchell’s side, particularly in the first half.
The home side did come away with one record to be proud of as no Welsh women’s team had experienced a matchday quite like this one. The attendance of 21,186 obliterated the previous record for a women’s sporting event on Welsh soil, 16,845, which was set by the national football team in November. The crowd underlined the growth of the women’s game with ticket sales increasing year-on-year.
Conditions were perfect with the roof closed, which amplified the cauldron effect the light and fire show created. It revved up the crowd and infused the game with the emotion only this rivalry can create.
The battle-like atmosphere was translated on to the pitch with the Jaz Joyce-Butchers’s pace bringing the game to life as the hosts looked to strike first. She could not find a way through but they kept knocking at the door.
The England flanker Sadia Kabeya seemed to have rescued the situation with a turnover but a knock-on by the fly-half Zoe Harrison in the in-goal area gave Wales a five-metre scrum. The resulting attack ended with Jenny Scoble going over to give Sean Lynn the perfect start to his first home game in charge.
It was not long until England fired back with Feaunati picking a great line to burst through the defence. Jones followed it up by running half the length of the pitch to dive over. She tapped her heart and pointed to the sky as she scored as a tribute to her parents.
Once England turn the scoring tap on, their opposition are rarely able to find a way to stem the flow and the Red Roses extended their lead through Sarah Bern and Feaunati tries. It was not a flawless first half performance from the visitors, though, with cheap scrum penalties given away and a series of sloppy forward passes.
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France 38-15 Scotland
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France secured their second win of this year's Women's Six Nations and a bonus point with a 38-15 win over Scotland in La Rochelle.
The hosts made a fast start as Carla Arbez [pictured] finished off a break by No 8 Teani Feleu in the 11th minute. Morgane Bourgeois added the conversion and two penalties to make it 13-0, but Emma Orr kicked, chased and touched down for Scotland after Lisa Thomson pounced on a French handling error. Helen Nelson added the extras to reduce the deficit to 13-7 at half-time.
Bourgeois kicked another penalty soon after the restart before France further extended their lead through a brilliant long-range drop-goal from scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus. Nelson slotted over a penalty to leave Scotland nine points behind approaching the hour mark, but France found another gear in the latter stages.
France scored twice in three minutes through Feleu and Seraphine Okemba down either flank to take the game beyond their opponents. Bourgeois then dived over herself to score the hosts’ fourth try and seal a bonus point. Scotland drove across from a lineout in added time for a consolation score, Elis Martin touching down before Nelson’s conversion effort hit the post.
Having beaten Ireland 27-15 in Belfast in their first game, France host Wales next while Scotland, who defeated Wales in their opener, will face Italy. PA Media
Photograph: Romain Perrocheau/AFP
The Principality exploded at the start of the second half thanks to a break by Lisa Neumann but Wales were unable to convert it into points and England punished them once again.
Player-of-the-match Kildunne brought out her signature rodeo celebration every time she touched down with the full-back the scorer of the next three tries
Wales had a commiseration try by Kate Williams in the corner but a piece of Harrison skill brought about another score for the Red Roses. She kicked a pinpoint ball to the wing Abby Dow, making her first appearance since breaking a bone in a hand that ruled her out of the end of the Premiership season, who scored.
There were two tries for sevens star Abi Burton on her full England debut and Dow rounded off the scoring in an utterly commanding performance for the visitors.
Wales more than fronted up in the encounter and they prevented a record win, which came in 2005 when England trounced them 81-0.
But the Red Roses continue to bloom in their era of domination. The victory extended their winning run in the tournament to 31 consecutive matches and their victories in all competitions to 22. Can anyone stop this England team? On this evidence it is difficult to see.
