England win comfortably over Eagles

England opened the Women’s Rugby Super Series with a comfortable 39-13 victory over an inexperienced but willing USA team at Calgary Rugby Park.

A penalty goal from Kimber Rozier gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead shortly after kickoff, but England replied quickly through Emily Scott and piled on 22 unanswered points. Kay Wilson, Rowena Burnfield, and Sarah McKenna all touched down with a conversion from Amber Reed adding to American woes.

Fullback Jessica Wooden, a standout for the Eagles, scored a fine individual effort just on the stroke of halftime, converted by Rozier, to close the gap somewhat, but the comeback never came as England raced away with three more tries in the second half to win handily.

The Americans found success at the scrum through their experienced front row, led by captain Sarah Chobot, but struggled to contain a dynamic England backline in the wide spaces. The English back row of Hannah Gallagher, Marlie Packer, and captain Sarah Hunter, as well as replacement Alex Matthews, impressed with their work rate and linking ability.

Rachel Lund enjoyed a special moment as she touched down to score with her first touch of the ball in her international career, with Lark Davies also making her debut. The Eagles gave first caps to eight players in the starting lineup, with another five coming off the bench.

“We’ll take the win, there were lots of positives, but we need more composure. The endeavor to play was there against a really physical side who also wanted to play.” – Sarah Hunter

“Obviously it wasn’t the result we were looking for, but we had eight new caps starting and not much experience on the bench. Even tough we left a lot of points on the field I’m excited about the future. I think we need to work a little bit harder on defense, especially around the edges. We got caught around the fringes and gave them too much space.” – Sarah Chobot

USA
Tries – J. Wooden (39)
Cons – K. Rozier (40)
Pens – K. Rozer 2 (3, 61)

ENGLAND
Tries – S. McKenna 2 (33, 44), E. Scott (8), K. Wilson (16), R. Burnfield (29), M. Packer (53), R. Lund (68)
Cons – A. Reed 2 (30, 43)

USA
1 Sarah Chobot (capt.) (Catie Benson 62) 2 Katy Augustyn (Sam Pankey 70) 3 Hope Rogers (Baylee Annis 74) 4 Stacey Bridges 5 Alycia Washington (Molly Kinsella 60) 6 Laura Miller 7 Elizabeth Cairns 8 Jordan Gray (Sara Parsons 56) 9 Deven Owsiany 10 Kimber Rozier 11 Cheta Emba (Lauren Rhode 62) 12 Jenn Sever (Nicole Heavirland 22) 13 Jane Paar 14 Kelsi Stockert 15 Jessica Wooden

Not used: Jennifer Lui

ENGLAND
1 Vicky Corborough (Rochelle Clark 44) 2 Amy Cokayne (Lark Davies 67) 3 Laura Keates (Justine Lucas 62) 4 Rowena Burnfield (Tamara Taylor 62) 5 Abbie Scott 6 Hannah Gallagher (Alex Matthews HT) 7 Marlie Packer 8 Sarah Hunter (capt.) 9 Bianca Blackburn (Leanne Riley 64) 10 Emily Scott 11 Katie Mason (Rachel Lund 67) 12 Ceri Large (Emily Scarratt 67) 13 Amber Reed 14 Kay Wilson 15 Sarah McKenna (Emily Scarratt 37-HT)