England Women beat Scotland 76-0 in Esher
By Julia Hutton RFU
February 2 2013
England Women got their Six Nations defence off to the ideal start, with a resounding 76-0 win over Scotland. Head Coach Gary Street’s side notched up 12 tries with two from Sarah Hunter, two from Ceri Large, two from Sally Tuson, two from Abigail Chamberlain and one apiece from Hannah Gallagher, Amber Reed, Kay Wilson and Rochelle Clark.
England Women 76-0 Scotland Women England improved on last season’s 47-0 win against Scotland in last year’s opener, and Street’s side always looked in control on a chilly day in Esher. After a slow start from both sides, it was England who drew first blood after 19 minutes, strong work from the pack opened up space for No. 8 and captain Sarah Hunter to pick from the base and dive over to make it 5-0. Ten minutes later and the scoreline was doubled, Saracens flanker Hannah Gallagher spotted a gap in the Scottish defence and slid through with ease, Amber Reed added the extras. Reed added another seven points with 35 on the clock, good work from debutant centre Abigail Chamberlain freed up space for England’s No. 12 and Reed made no mistake, touching down between the posts and adding the conversion. There was time for England to add a fourth try before the break, wing Kay Wilson turned on the afterburners to run in from just over half way to make it 24-0. It didn’t take long for England to pick up where they left off in second period, fly half Ceri Large showed good feet to get over the line before Chamberlain exploited a gap in the Scottish defence to go over for her first international try to make it 38-0. Minutes later and Chamberlain had her second, smooth passing from the backline gave England women over and the Richmond centre touched down with ease. With 52 played England had their eighth score, replacement wing Sally Tuson showed good pace and strength to get over and the ninth followed soon after, Ceri Large again going over the line after some sustained pressure from the home side. There was a nice moment for wing Fiona Pocock, who came off the bench with 15 to play, her first appearance in an England shirt since injuring her knee in the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final against Australia. She was involved in the build up to the tenth try, but the ball eventually worked its way towards the forwards and replacement prop Rochelle Clark burrowed over to score. Hunter then scored her second try as the clock ticked 70 to make it 69-0 and Tuson got her second minutes later to make it 76-0 after Reed’s conversion, rounding off the scoring. Gary Street said: "For the first ten or fifteen minutes as we were bedding into the game we did make mistakes but the important thing was that we didnt panic, we got it together and in the end the result clearly went our way. "We had a lot of young, inexperienced players out there today but actually they were all leaders and they stood up and that's something I'm really pleased with. We want our games to be exciting to watch, so when people do tune in on television or come to see us live they get a great experience, and that's what we managed today."
England Women starting XV 15 Lauren Cattell (Saracens) 1 Kate Newton (Bristol) Replacements: Tries: Sarah Hunter 2T, Hannah Gallagher 1T, Amber Reed 1T, Kay Wilson 1T, Ceri Large 2T, Abigail Chamberlain 2T, Sally Tuson 2T, Rochelle Clark 1T Conversions: Amber Reed 7C Scotland Women starting XV 15 Steph Johnston (RHC Cougars) Referee: Christine Bigarin England’s Six Nations Fixtures:
*Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk **Free entry to Twickenham Stadium following the men’s RBS 6 Nations match |
