England overwhelm Canada at Sandy Park

England came away 50-24 winners over Canada at Sandy Park on Saturday afternoon. Inaccuracy at the lineout and several turnovers in possession proved costly, and the home side showed their class out wide against an inexperienced Canadian backline as the Red Roses scored eight tries against four.

It was a quick start for England. Marlie Packer won a turnover at the breakdown to win possession. Holly Aitchison then spotted Ellie Kildunne in space. A cross-kick bounced up perfectly for the fullback, and one quick connection with Abby Dow later it was Helena Rowland in for the score. Rowland converted herself to make it a full seven.

The second try was also a result of a turnover. With Canada on attack Claire Gallagher’s flat pass was read perfectly by Aitchison, the flyhalf sprinting well into Canadian territory. A penalty conceded an attacking lineout and the drive came on with Packer getting the credit for the grounding.

Some confidence was restored for the Canadians following the restart. Again their ball control was found wanting, but England were inaccurate and conceded successive penalties to give the visitors an opportunity. They went for the maul but Justine Pelletier darted to the short side, sold a dummy and crossed for the try. Sophie de Goede’s conversion from wide out made it a five-point game.

The gap was back to double-digits before long. Dow found space out wide to stretch the Canadian defense. It was the forwards who did the rest, with the entire England front row connecting with short passes. Mackenzie Carson did the finishing, fending off one and running over a second defender to crash over for a try against her former team.

Canada found a second try before long. A set move from a scrum put England on the back foot. After several phases they inched towards the line, with a strong carry from Gabrielle Senft pushing them to within a meter of the line. Tyson Beukeboom’s second carry from in close was just enough to reach the target and the referee’s arm went up for the try.

Again the pendulum swung back to England. The Canadian backs were at sixes and sevens and Kildunne scythed through a huge gap, weaving her way past multiple defenders to score a fourth try for the home side. A fifth came when Lucy Packer took a page from Pelletier’s book with a show-and-go from a ruck to slip through. Rowland added two conversions to make it 31-12 to the Red Roses at halftime.

After a period of no scoring to start the second half, replacement hooker Connie Powell flew through another huge gap in the Canadian defense and found Kildunne close in support. The fullback again showed her class to step past the cover and score her double, with Rowland adding her fourth conversion of the day.

Fresh legs gave Canada a lift and they hit a purple patch mid-way through the half. Emily Tuttosi was driven over from a maul, and then a second try came moments later. Paige Farries and Olivia Apps combined for a long break-out. The ball was recycled and went wide to Florence Symonds, who popped it back inside to a trailing Maddy Grant for the finish.

It would be the home side who closed out the game in style. Kildunne’s kick behind the defense set up a second try for Rowland. A brilliant cover tackle from Magali Harvey on Claudia MacDonald prevented another score, but soon after Maisy Allen was driven over in a maul for a try in her test debut that brought up the half-century.

The two sides will square off again next weekend. It’s off to London this time with StoneX Stadium, the home of Saracens, acting as the backdrop.

 

SCORING

ENGLAND 50
Tries (8) – H. Rowland 2 (2′, 67′), M. Packer (6′), M. Carson (13′), E. Kildunne 2 (25′, 54′), L. Packer (29′), M. Allen (75′)
Cons (5) – H. Rowland 5/8 (3′, 26′, 30′, 55′, 68′)

CANADA 24
Tries (4) – J. Pelletier (10′), T. Beukeboom (19′), E. Tuttosi (57′), M. Grant (60′)
Cons (2) – S. de Goede 2/4 (11′, 58′)

 

TEAMS

ENGLAND
1 Mackenzie Carson (17 Hannah Botterman 51′), 2 Lark Davies (16 Connie Powell 51′), 3 Sarah Bern (18 Maud Muir 51′), 4 Rosie Galligan, 5 Cath O’Donnell (19 Sarah Beckett 58′), 6 Morwenna Talling, 7 Marlie Packer (capt.) (20 Maisy Allen 65′), 8 Zoe Aldcroft, 9 Lucy Packer (21 Natasha Hunt 51′), 10 Holly Aitchison, 11 Abby Dow, 12 Tatyana Heard (22 Megan Jones 65′), 13 Helena Rowland, 14 Jess Breach (23 Claudia MacDonald 65′), 15 Ellie Kildunne

CANADA
1 McKinley Hunt (17 Olivia DeMerchant HT), 2 Emily Tuttosi (16 Gillian Boag 65′), 3 DaLeaka Menin (18 Alex Ellis 65′), 4 Tyson Beukeboom, 5 Courtney Holtkamp (19 Laetitia Royer 58′), 6 Gabrielle Senft, 7 Fabiola Forteza (20 Sara Svoboda 65′), 8 Sophie de Goede (capt.), 9 Justine Pelletier, 10 Claire Gallagher (22 Taylor Perry 71′), 11 Florence Symonds (23 Magali Harvey70′), 12 Maddy Grant, 13 Fancy Bermudez (21 Olivia Apps 58′), 14 Paige Farries, 15 Alex Tessier

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Lauren Jenner (New Zealand)
Assistants: Clara Munarini (Italy) & Clotilde Benvenuti (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

 

Venue: Sandy Park, Exeter