A new stage, new levels of interest, but on the opening night of a World Cup that may transform women’s rugby, it was the same old Red Roses. It is hoped that this record-breaking tournament will turn England’s dominant women’s rugby side into household names, particularly if it results in home triumph in late September – and for the uninitiated, this was a perfect demonstration of why the hosts are such strong favourites. An imperfect first half performance – the Red Roses were overly ambitious at times and overly disorganised at others – gave way to a scintillating second half as England powered over, away from and eventually out of sight of an overmatched United States.
The result – as will be the case for England until the semi-final stage – was never really in doubt, as talented and experienced as many in the USA ranks are. Right now, though, they are simply at a different stage to their opening-night opponents; there is no shame in losing heavily to England, because almost everyone else tends to, too. Their bigger battles are to come later in the Pool A itinerary, the clash with Australia in York next weekend likely key in determining which of the pair joins the Red Roses in reaching the last eight.
There were moments of excellence from the US, with lock Erica Jarrell-Searcy’s sensational solo score a particular highlight, but after a slightly troublesome first 25 minutes, England escaped to rack up a sizeable score. In doing so, they demonstrated the qualities that make them so good: each and every player’s comfort with ball in hand; the sheer number of strike-running threats across the park; the depth evident when the bench made a significant impact. After a few clunks in the first half, John Mitchell would have been pleased with the ruthlessness and efficiency his side showed with Ellie Kildunne, Meg Jones and Hannah Botterman among their standouts.
As an occasion, this felt like a special night at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light. 42,723 were in attendance in all, more than were at the final of the last World Cup that broke the then-record for a women’s rugby game. In a city rugby seldom visits, and an area not renowned for its passion for the sport, a crowd of such size was a considerable achievement – and a sign of things to come at a tournament set to break all existing marks for women’s rugby spectatorship.
The maul was England’s chief weapon of destruction at that last World Cup, the agonising end to the final a rare malfunction as Lark Atkin-Davies failed to find Abbie Ward’s hands five metres out from the Black Ferns’ line. The Red Roses have since sought to evolve a wider game to be more multitudinous, but they showed in the warm-up win over France that their lineout drive remains a real strength – and Sadia Kabeya was the buried beneficiary inside 10 minutes to get them going.
The USA have shown in the past against England an ability to stick in the contest for a while and make things awkward with their array of power carriers and nous around the park. They managed to frustrate the hosts for a good portion of the first half here, the second try only arriving through prop Botterman thanks to two contrasting bits of brilliance from Jones – the centre first leaving Georgie Perris-Redding on the floor with a bruising carry and then producing a cross kick to Abby Dow to set up the position from which Botterman bundled through.
If that was a sign of the athletic talent within the England ranks, the United States would soon show some of their own. Jarrell-Searcy was a strong cross country runner in her youth and showed off some of that speed and stamina with a superb score from distance having evaded Natasha Hunt and Jess Breach – even the rapid Red Roses wing was left trailing in her wake.
Yet Alev Kelter’s cynical slapdown at a ruck earned her a yellow card and England a player advantage, one which they made count. First tighthead Maud Muir bashed over from close range before the backs produced something rather more extravagant from range, Kildunne a popular scorer after a lovely passing move that began inside their own 22. Abby Dow had been prominent in that passage and soon had a try of her own after the resumption.
Kildunne snared a second after good work from Jones, and might have had a third shortly after an Amy Cokayne score if not for an unselfish decision to put Breach in. The pair were at it again following Lark Atkin-Davies’s try, Kildunne with a wonderful bit of dexterity down the left touchline to grant her back three colleague, and fellow “Cowboy”, a clear run to the line. Atkin-Davies added try No 11 before the end.
And what of Ilona Maher? The USA centre had bopped along on the big screen to Florence & The Machine ahead of kick off, a sly smirk acknowledging her outsized status in comparison to others at this tournament. It had been her name, rather than those of the Red Roses, to generate the largest cheers when the teams had been read out earlier. Yet she was largely kept quiet by England – and Jones particularly. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog,” the significantly-smaller centre quipped about her encounter with Maher earlier in the week, an adage she showed with a typically irrepressible performance in attack and defence, the Welsh-born terrier England’s menace throughout.
It shows the talent within the ranks that Jones was almost overshadowed by Kildunne and the rest of the back three as they romped and rollicked to another mighty victory. The tougher battles will come down the line, but the party has started in style.
