England power past Canada at The Stoop

England underlined their spot at the top of the world rankings with a dominant 51-12 win over Canada at The Stoop on Sunday. The home side recorded seven tries in all, with the Canadians falling off the pace and conceding 31 unanswered points in the second half.

It was a blistering start for the Red Roses as debutante Heather Cowell crossed after just four minutes played. With Canada on the back foot Zoe Harrison took a quick tap and Helena Rowland missed out two players to find Cowell in space for the finish in the corner. Harrison’s conversion was wide.

The visitors got over the initial shock and 15 minutes later an intercept try from Paige Farries got them on the scoreboard. Brianna Miller’s conversion gave Canada the lead albeit a slender one.

Just shy of the half-hour mark the home side retook the lead. After good work from her fellow forwards, prop Sarah Bern bounced off one defender and fended another before crashing over the line. Harrison tacked on the conversion and added a penalty goal but Canada would soon strike back.

A set move from the scrum, a point of strength for the Canadians, saw Sabrina Poulin breaking free and the winger blazed past the cover defense to score in the corner. Miller’s conversion did not find its mark but the gap was reduced to just three points.

Cowell secured a double just ahead of the halftime whistle. Poppy Cleall’s offload from the deck went to Claudia MacDonald, who connected with Harrison to give the scoring pass to the right winger to the delight of her hometown crowd.

The second half belonged to England, and it began just two minutes after the restart. Bern showed a remarkable turn of pace to break the line, step Elissa Alarie, and drag Miller over as she grounded the ball. MacDonald was next to score, tearing away from a maul to score under the posts.

A second penalty goal on the hour mark pushed the score to 37-12 and two more tries would come before fulltime. Replacement flanker Alex Matthews scored the first, bursting straight up the middle through a gap in the defense. MacDonald had the last say after moving to the wing, taking a short pass on the blindside from Leanne Infante.

Both teams will be back in action next Sunday. England host the USA in Worcester, while Canada cross the Severn Bridge to play Wales in Cardiff.

 

SCORING

ENGLAND 51
Tries – H. Cowell 2 (4′, 40′), S. Bern 2 (29′, 42′), C. MacDonald 2 (50′, 75′), A. Matthews (70′)
Cons – Z. Harrison 4/6 (30′, 43′, 51′, 71′), H. Rowland 1/1 (76′)
Pens – Z. Harrison 2/2 (35′, 60′)

CANADA 12
Tries – P. Farries (21′), S. Poulin (36′)
Cons – B. Miller 1/2 (22′)

 

TEAMS

ENGLAND
1 Hannah Botterman, 2 Amy Cokayne, 3 Sarah Bern, 4 Zoe Aldcroft, 5 Abbie Ward, 6 Sarah Hunter (capt.), 7 Sadia Kabeya, 8 Poppy Cleall, 9 Claudia MacDonald, 10 Zoe Harrison, 11 Abby Dow, 12 Helena Rowland, 13 Lagi Tuima, 14 Heather Cowell, 15 Sarah McKenna

Replacements: 16 Lark Davies, 17 Vickii Cornborough, 18 Maud Muir, 19 Harriet Millar-Mills, 20 Alex Matthews, 21 Marlie Packer, 22 Leanne Infante, 23 Holly Aitchison

CANADA
1 Olivia DeMerchant (capt.), 2 Emily Tuttosi, 3 DaLeaka Menin, 4 Emma Taylor, 5 Courtney Holtkamp, 6 Fabiola Forteza, 7 Karen Paquin, 8 Gabrielle Senft, 9 Brianna Miller, 10 Emily Belchos, 11 Paige Farries, 12 Alex Tessier, 13 Sara Kaljuvee, 14 Sabrina Poulin, 15 Elissa Alarie

Replacements: 16 Laura Russell, 17 Brittany Kassil, 18 Alex Ellis, 19 Tyson Beukeboom, 20 Pamphinette Buisa, 21 Laetitia Royer, 22 Justine Pelletier, 23 Renee Gonzalez

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistants: Aurélie Groizeleau (France) & Maria Giovanna Pacifico (Italy)
TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)