Last weekend in WXV Global Series kicked off in style at Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey, as USA The Women’s Eagles fought against the world champions England on home soil.
Despite a passionate display from the Eagles, England were clinical and relentless scoring nine tries, including four to winger Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, for a 55-12 victory that ended the USA’s five game winning streak.
After receiving player of the match, Claudia Moloney-Macdonald reflected: “This week was all about proving it to ourselves. We had three really tough games against Canada, the last two weeks obviously didn’t go the way we wanted, but for us it was all about learning as much as possible from those two performances.”
“We attacked him. From zero to the 80th minute. I’m really proud of the girls and the way we showed up today.”
Here are three talking points from today’s game…
England came back with a bite
After the rugby world called for their winning streak to end, which it did, the Red Roses were given room to grow. A series of changes to the starting line-up allowed new combinations to emerge and insight into the depth of talent in the team in play.
It was a tough day for the USA’s wingers, as Claudia Maloney-MacDonald ran in four tries and Mia Venner a fifth, all of which were delivered through England patiently drawing out the USA’s attacking defense before moving on to the backs, whether Holly Aitchison or Meg Jones swung the ball wide.
The Red Roses deserved it today. Maddie Feaunati was unrelenting, earning the second half try from the rush. Maud Muir gave a brilliant performance. Morwenna Talling is persistent in her attacks as she does this.
In 50 minutes, the intensity of the game increased, you could see the USA striving for every meter. But England seemed to relish the USA’s frustration and intensity and matched it, turning a tentative first-half struggle into an all-out assault in the second half. It was great to see England again with some bite in their physicality, which had faltered in the previous one Canada games.
The United States also played to its strengths, with Hope Rogers scoring in shortstop to put the Eagles on the scoreboard, recording 175 points and falling just four points shy of the all-time US scoring record. But England’s defensive line contained the US attack through their double-goals, not competing in the ruck, forcing bodies on their feet and in defensive lines. There are no gaps here.
Scrum o’clock
We also witnessed a delicious fight in the front rows. The dark arts were certainly in play as the two sets of starting front rows ticked their way through the first half.
England took a free-kick in the scrum on six minutes. By the twenty-seventh minute, the referee was talking about breaking the tie, and the USA won a penalty in the scrum soon after. Maud Muir is not happy with that decision. A minute later, USA’s Keia Mae Sagapolu conceded a penalty for a late tackle, and England won another scrum-half penalty soon after.
From here the blood of English whore Amy Cokayne rose, which is always brilliant to watch, and then every line, scrum and carry became a battle. We even got to witness one of Cokayne’s signature shots, which she deftly slotted into open space from a collapsing USA lineup.
Mackenzie Carson and Maud Muir also linked up to break the line to set up Claudia Moloney Macdonald for the third try.
Early in the second half, another penalty for England, Maud Muir is now grinning. By the 50th minute England had the upper hand in the fightback and continued to apply the pressure until the end of the game, culminating in a Mona Lisa Topou sin bin in the 67th minute and England’s Bryony Field’s try two minutes later.
England front row substitutes Hannah Botterman, Sarah Bern and Bryony Field closed out the game brilliantly and Bern’s try was disallowed.
More in the tank
After all the epic results we saw in the WXV Global Series from these two teams, this game is set to be another showdown. But in the end, we saw a gap in the rankings between the two teams, with the USA entering today’s game ranked sixth and England ranked first.
The USA will take so much from this WXV Global Series. It was extremely successful. Five wins from six (first time they’ve won five in a row in 20 years), new young players getting vital international minutes and a squad growing in confidence and identity.
They were clearly well-rehearsed and confident in their game plan. Although stepping up to the upper echelons of the world rankings will take more than trying to break through the biggest teams. They need to play the ball more and force the defensive line to make decisions.
Once the U.S. was under pressure, they went one play or shot away. The difference in composure between England and the US was noticeable. Both USA’s tries today were scored by their two most capped players. But patience is a virtue, and the momentum built from this WXV Global Series campaign sets up an incredibly interesting one as well Pacific Four Series next spring.
Likewise, we’ve seen some brilliant new faces emerge in the Red Roses squad. Head coach John Mitchell faces the challenging decision of whether and how to usher in a new era for the Red Roses in the women’s competition Six Nations next April.