It might not have been an electrical vent WXV Global Series The 2026 game the Red Roses were hoping for, but England they now have a 39-game winning streak after posting a 48-15 victory against Australia in a strong performance in the second half.
It was a sell-out at the CorpAcq Stadium in Manchester as England began their run of matches in September and October in the WXV Global Series, and it was the first meeting between the two sides since the women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, where the Red Roses comfortably saw off the Wallaroos in the group stage 47-7.
But while the result may be similar, today’s game seemed like a completely different prospect. It showed an England team that was the most inconsistent we’ve seen all year, and a Wallaroos side growing in confidence.
The question in today’s match was not whether Australia could beat England (which they were capable of for large parts of the game), but how much they had improved in a relatively short period of time.
Here are three talking points from today’s game…
The devil is in the details
Dismissing the many rugby clichés such as ‘you have to do the basics well’ and ‘consistency is key’ would, in fact, be appropriate here.
England coughed up continuity errors in the ruck, knocks in open play that led to an inability to build phase play, and crucial set-piece errors. This allowed Australia to stifle the pace of England’s speed in the first 50 minutes.
Tim Walsh asked his team before the game to have “more abrasive edge and winning collisions on both sides of the ball”, which they achieved. England looked back.
Both teams had attempts canceled in the first 25 minutes. Meg Jones’ opening score was disallowed for offside from a down attack, then Brittany Merlo’s maul attempt was ruled out for an offside violation in the maul formation. That led to dissension in the first half. Not the fast, expansive rugby that the Red Roses want to play and that the fans are used to.
Credit where credit is due, few would have predicted that Australia would lead 10-5 at half time. Australia restricted England to one try from Abi Burton. Smart decision-making by Samantha Wood, an early penalty kick and a line steal led to Faliki Pohiva’s first-half try. Australia simply took their chances better in the first half.
Is it indicative that the England team is ahead of them Women’s Rugby World Cup Final second leg in 2025 Canada next week is less clear. The Red Roses ended up scoring 36 points in the second half to Australia’s seven. They scored eight tries, just to remind you why they are world champions.
Red Roses head coach John Mitchell said at full-time:
“We were very static, it was our own doing. We were very calm in the process at half-time to figure out how we could regain control and accelerate, and I think we showed that very well in the second half.”
Add another cliché here, for Australia; they need to produce a competitive full performance of 80 minutes.
50 up for Aitchison
Fly-half Holly Aitchison made her 50th appearance in front of the home crowd. With her junior club, Firwood Waterloo, just down the road from CorpAcq, it was almost a full-circle moment for Sale Sharks back, who returned north this year to achieve this milestone in Salford.
Speaking before the game, head coach John Mitchell praised Aitchison:
“We’re so blessed with fly-halves, aren’t we? She’s just a very good attacking half-half.”
“We challenged her on her game. She seems very calm and leads the group very well.
“What a huge opportunity for her as she was almost born into rugby and I’m sure her family and friends will be very happy for her.”
England’s starting half selection remains split between Zoe Harrison and Holly Aitchison, with Harrison replaced in the 55th minute and scoring three second-half conversions.
It was also special for England debutant Bryony Field, who scored in the second half off the back of a driving strike.
Momentum change
Although we are all delighted to have the international women back, was this game a bit of a false start? Neither team is at full strength, and this was reflected in the rugby on the field.
Australia is in a familiar transition period. The Wallaroos are entering their final period as semi-professionals as Australia look to move the XV program to a full-time model from November 2026.
After several coaching changes in 2026, they are currently led by new women’s boss Tim Walsh, who does not bring his title-winning experience with the Aussie 7s to the 15-a-side game. Then they await the arrival of Sione Fukofuka as the longtime head coach in 2027.
They were missing a star here too, with no fewer than nine players, including Maddie Levi, out of the squad for the Ultimate Sevens competition. When we see Australia in full force remains to be seen. Perhaps they could have added the attacking zip that Australia needed.
The Red Roses are not completely out of their injury list either. Mo Hunt and Morwenna Talling are back in the squad, but Lilli Ives Campion continues to lead the line-up, while Zoe Stratford and Abbie Ward remain on maternity leave. With the schedule shaking up today, the coming weeks are a real test for Ives Campion to lead and control at this level.
Onward and upward
Both teams are facing tough challenges in the upcoming matches.
Australia started one of the toughest WXV Glopbal series schedules in this series. Facing the world champions concludes the toughest part of their European tour. Now I can focus on my second match against France.
The last time these two sides met WXV 1 2023, where Australia stunned The Blues 29-20. France they haven’t beaten the Wallaroos since 2017.
Obviously, both teams are different beasts now, with France on the more lopsided side.
But after a tough opening game against New Zealand, it could be the Wallaroos’ first chance to build on what they did today. After today’s performance, next week’s game is even more intriguing for the Wallaroos.
For England, they won’t want to open like that against Canada next weekend at Sandy Park. Canada is a team that also likes to play fast, attacking rugby, and if England are caught off the ball and on the back foot, Canada will punish them brutally.
