England cruise to series sweep over Canada

England made it two-from-two in their series against Canada with a convincing 29-12 victory in London on Saturday. While the scoreline was not as lopsided as the week before, the Red Roses never looked in danger against a Maple Leafs side forced to play the last hour of the match with only 14 on the field.

The Canadians were on the attack early in the first half but it came to a screeching halt when Hannah Botterman won a breakdown turnover. Soon after Marlie Packer was over after some hard graft from the English forwards. Within a couple minutes England were in again as a searing break from Claudia MacDonald on first phase ended with Ellie Kildunne dancing her way over the line.

Disaster struck next when Gabrielle Senft was spotted making a reckless challenge on Botterman. The Canadian flanker went too high with her shoulder connecting with the English prop’s head, and from the referee’s pocket came a red card.

A rare burst of joy came across Canadian faces when Sara Svoboda charged down Holly Aitchison’s clearance attempt to put the Maple Leafs on the board. The English pack rolled up their sleeves and went back to work, with Packer first held up before Maud Muir blasted through the tackle of Svoboda to score on the stroke of halftime.

At the 50-minute mark a gaping hole in the Canadian defense allowed Amber Reed to score England’s fourth try. A stagnant period followed as replacements streamed into the match, and then the Red Roses were reduced to 14 when Lucy Packer was forced off through injury with no substitutes left to call on.

The English backline squandered an overlap but an arcing run by Megan Jones freed Jess Breach for a fifth try. Canada would get a consolation score via Taylor Perry, who fended off Packer and then fellow loose forward Maisy Allen on her way to touch down in the corner.

Both teams now pack their backs for New Zealand to compete in the inaugural WXV tournament. The first round sees England facing Australia and Canada taking on Wales, before another test between the two sides on October 27. The final weekend will see Canada ending their year against France on November 4 followed by England and New Zealand.

 

SCORING

ENGLAND 29
Tries (5) – M. Packer (10′), E. Kildunne (13′), M. Muir (39′), A. Reed (50′), J. Breach (68′)
Cons (2) – M. Jones 2/5 (40′, 51′)

CANADA 12
Tries (2) – S. Svoboda (26′), T. Perry (72′)
Cons (1) – S. de Goede 1/2 (73′)
RC (1) – G. Senft (17′)

 

TEAMS

ENGLAND
1 Hannah Botterman (17 Mackenzie Carson 49′), 2 Lark Davies (16 Connie Powell 49′), 3 Maud Muir (18 Sarah Bern 49′), 4 Zoe Aldcroft (20 Rosie Galligan 49′), 5 Sarah Beckett (19 Cath O’Donnell 63′), 6 Morwenna Talling, 7 Maisy Allen, 8 Marlie Packer (capt.), 9 Natasha Hunt (*21 Lucy Packer 63′), 10 Holly Aitchison (22 Sophie Bridger 63′), 11 Claudia MacDonald, 12 Amber Reed, 13 Megan Jones, 14 Jess Breach, 15 Ellie Kildunne (23 Abby Dow 63′)

*21 Lucy Packer left the field with injury at 66 minutes and could not be replaced

CANADA
1 Olivia DeMerchant, 2 Emily Tuttosi (16 Gillian Boag 66′), 3 DaLeaka Menin (18 Alex Ellis 66′), 4 Tyson Beukeboom (17 McKinley Hunt 56′), 5 Courtney Holtkamp (19 Laetitia Royer 49′), 6 Gabrielle Senft, 7 Sara Svoboda (20 Fabiola Forteza 55′), 8 Sophie de Goede (capt.), 9 Justine Pelletier, 10 Claire Gallagher (21 Olivia Apps 49′), 11 Krissy Scurfield, 12 Taylor Perry, 13 Fancy Bermudez (22 Shoshanah Seumanutafa 66′), 14 Paige Farries (23 Florence Symonds 58′), 15 Maddy Grant

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Amber McLachlan (Australia)
Assistants: Maria Latos (Germany) & Adele Robert (Belgium)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

 

Venue: StoneX Stadium, London