England miss out on the title despite Waterman record
There was a sense of the bitter sweet about England’s five-try performance against Ireland. The bitter comes from last week’s onepoint defeat to France. As a result, the Red Roses were dependent on the Welsh to do them a favour in Colwyn Bay, but Les Bleues swept to a Grand Slam with a 38-3 victory.
The sweet came from the complete performance put in by the English that saw flair in attack, but also grit in defence, only allowing one Irish try.
It was also a memorable evening for Danielle Waterman, the veteran full-back who has been in superb form on the wing – to accommodate Ellie Kildunne – as she broke the record for the most tries scored by an England Women’s player.
The 33-year-old opened the scoring after a grubber from fly-half Katy Daley-mclean and, in scoring her 47th Test try, Waterman has overtaken full-back Sue Day in the scoring charts.
Waterman was understandably disappointed at her side’s failure to retain their Women’s Six Nations title, but credited her team-mates in helping her reach her milestone.
“It was unbelievably gutting not to get that Grand Slam but, at the same time, we turned it around this week,” she said. “It is a huge honour to have a record like that but, at the same time, as an outside back we rely massively on the forwards and the inside backs doing their job as well, so I think we get the glory for their hard work.”
Kildunne, the 18-year-old A-level student who has been working closely with Waterman since she joined up with the England squad last autumn, also shone, scoring a try, but also showing a maturity beyond her years in terms of her support play from deep in a player-of-the-match performance.
The crowd of almost 7,000 also struck a bright note, considering the awkward teatime kick-off.
Simon Middleton, the England head coach, acknowledged the psychological challenge faced by his side after the close defeat in Grenoble last week.
“It was tough to lose by a point and to lose in the last minute of the game,” he said. “Before the Six Nations started I was asked, ‘If it goes to a decider in France and then you lose, what will you do?’ I said, ‘If we win or we lose against France, it shows a lot about the character of the side, the following week for different reasons’.
“I think that character has really shone through. Today was a tough game and this was a tough week and the girls handled it really well.”
The character from the English was on display when they deployed shock-and-awe tactics late in the first half, with openside Marlie Packer and hooker Amy Cokayne scoring in quick succession.
The opening of the first half saw the Irish sit deep in defence and Middleton praised the Irish savvy at the breakdown. “The Irish are probably one of the best sides at the breakdown, particularly in Claire Molloy and Ciara Griffin,” he said. “They have two fantastic exponents of getting in and stealing the ball and putting the pressure on.”
Despite the Irish resistance, Kildunne burst through to seal the bonus-point try. Replacement back Amber Reed took England’s try tally to five. After a raft of changes, Ireland sought consolation in a late try from Molloy.