England down Aussies, next up Canada

Rugby World Cup favourites England have powered their way into the semifinals with a convincing 41-5 win against Australia in the sort of weather enjoyed only by ducks.

Their opponents in the semifinal will be Canada who were too strong for the United States in the other quarterfinal played at Waitakere Stadium in Auckland yesterday.

After leading 12-8 at halftime, Canada went on to win 32-11.

With rain lashing down in Auckland before and during the quarterfinal, England backed their scrum, maul and lineout defence to turn the screws on a committed by ultimately limited Wallaroos side.

Fittingly, captain Sarah Hunter opened the scoring on the day she broke the world record for test appearances by any player, female or male.

The No 8 rumbled over from the back of the scrum as England’s forwards did a job on their opposites.

That set the tone of the entire game, with England’s carries in tight simply too hard to stop.

Big No 6 Alex Matthews was a standout while prop Sarah Bern also enjoyed rolling up her sleeves and taking it to the Australians.

It wasn’t an afternoon for backline play, but No 10 Zoe Harrison and decorated centre Emily Scarratt controlled proceedings well with their kicking games.

Harrison, in particular, produced an array of smart kicks to keep Australia on the back foot.

England led 19-5 at the break and an early try to lock Abbie Ward in the second half crushed any hopes of an Australian fightback.

On Saturday in Whangārei, France proved too strong for Italy in their quarterfinal clash, winning 39-3.