The relentless Red Roses winning machine just keeps on rolling. 21 consecutive wins became 22, this dominant England side beginning to again threaten their own record tally with no end to the streak in sight. A record Cardiff crowd piled in to the Principality Stadium in hope rather than expectation; even the most ardent of Welsh fans would have gone away relatively content that Sean Lynn’s side at times seemed in the same class as their vaunted visitors.
John Mitchell, the England head coach, has described his squad as two sides operating as one in this tournament as he shakes up selection in a World Cup year. After a few more unfamiliar combinations produced a performance of two halves – 40 minutes of good rugby followed by a rather more challenging second period – against Italy, a close to fully-loaded team showed their ruthless streak in dispatching Wales. Two weeks earlier, England’s men had set the standards here with a 10-try thrashing of their hosts; never to be outdone, the women raised the bar with an 11-try win as Ellie Kildunne marked her 50th cap with a hat-trick
While this was close to the team that England would field in a World Cup final, perhaps their standout star on the day was one of those still looking to force her way in. Maddie Feaunati is emerging in this campaign as a coming force, following a player of the match performance last week with an even more accomplished and devastating showing.
Were it not for Alex Matthews’ high tackle in the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) final, it is unlikely that Feaunati would have started here. But with Mitchell’s regular first choice No 8 serving a suspension, the 22-year-old back row could have done little more to stake her claim for a starting shirt for the remainder of the tournament with an outstanding performance. Feaunati got England going with a breakaway score from the ...
