England Women kick off WRWC with 65-3 win against Samoa
By RFU
August 2 2014
ENGLAND Women kicked off their Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign with a comprehensive ten-try, 65-3 win against Samoa in Marcoussis. Two tries for Kat Merchant, Lydia Thompson, Natasha Hunt and Kay Wilson and one apiece for La Toya Mason and Emily Scarratt set England on the way to victory while Scarratt also added 15 points with the boot.
After a cagey opening 10 minutes the game turned when Samoa full back Soteria Pulumu was red carded after a bad tip-tackle on England No. 9 Hunt. Scarratt added the resulting penalty for England’s first points of the tournament. England’s first try came from the pacy Merchant who showed some quick feet before diving over the line. And she soon had her second – her 43rd for England – going over in the 24th minute for 15-0 after Scarratt’s conversion. Thompson showed great pace for England’s third, racing in from more than 60 metres and Scarratt added the extras to make it 22-0. Worcester wing Thompson had her second try after 35 minutes and England had their fifth try on the whistle – Hunt spotting a gap and backing her own pace to score to make it 34-0. Samoa gave as good as they got in the opening exchanges of the second 40, but a piece of magic from Hunt, who cleverly spotted a gap in the tiring Samoa defence, broke the deadlock before replacement Wilson scored minutes later to make it 46-0. Replacement scrum half Mason spotted space on the Samoan try line for England’s eighth before Maggie Alphonsi found Scarratt who raced in for her first try. At 60-0 up, Samoa got their first points on the board with a penalty from Bella Milo, but Wilson added her second at the death to bring the scoring to a close and to give England their first win. “We didn’t really change anything after the red – we knew that if we stuck to our plan, and if we were patient then the opportunities would come. We’ll take a look at the game before switching focus to Spain. We have 26 players in our squad and a game in four days; it’s a quick turnaround, but we have faith in each player we have out here. We’re just pleased to get the tournament underway with a win, it’s the first of five, and we’re looking forward to the next one.” Sarah Hunter said: “We’ve been itching to get out onto the pitch and we’re pleased to get the campaign underway with a good performance – we wanted to play with width and tempo and we definitely did that at times. Samoa put the pressure on us, they were big and physical and played with real heart, but we’ll review the game and look to improve before we play Spain.” England Women Replacements: 16 Victoria Fleetwood (Lichfield), 17 Claire Purdy (Wasps), 18 Rebecca Essex (Richmond), 19 Marlie Packer (Wasps), 20 La Toya Mason (Wasps), 21 Ceri Large (Worcester), 22 Kay Wilson (Bristol) Tries: Merchant 2, Thompson 2, Hunt 2, Large 1, Mason 1, Scarratt 1 Samoa England’s WRWC Fixtures: |
