CHAMPS PUT ON SHOW OF POWER
WALES were blown away by a ruthless secondhalf display as they fell to a heavy defeat against defending champions England in the Women’s Six Nations in Cardiff.
Ioan Cunningham’s side had challenged the Red Roses for much of the first-half, but nine tries without reply saw Simon Middleton’s side pull away convincingly in the end.
Often in Welsh rugby, it’s the hope that kills you.
The hope that, be it in the face of the men’s continual inability to conquer the All Blacks or the sheer might of England women’s dominance over all before them, this time might be different.
But, in a sun-kissed, sold-out Arms Park, the stranglehold of that hope wasn’t excruciating as it often is.
Instead, as Wales more than matched their opponents for much of the first half, that hope was liberating, given it was always tempered by realistic expectations.
After all, while there was a Triple Crown on offer for Wales after wins over Ireland and Scotland, this match was as much about measuring how far Wales had come and how far they had to go.
Still not long into professionalism, this was the acid test for Wales and the opening half-hour offered a glimpse into what would hopefully become the norm in years to come.
Wales played their part – and then some – in an enthralling encounter, with the crowd thriving off every little battle won by those in red.
The front-row of Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones and Sisilia Tuipulotu continued to live up to their billing with a couple of early scrum penalties, while the Welsh backline showed ambition and continually found edges thanks to the vision and quick hands of captain Hannah Jones.
A spell of sustained pressure saw hooker Jones held up on 13 minutes, with Wales having to settle for a Keira Bevan penalty a couple of minutes later. Regardless, Wales were in front.
It might have been more, however this Welsh attack – while ambitious and inventive – lacked the clinical nature of their opponents at times.
While it took a while for England to trouble the scorers, when they finally did, it was with the sort of efficiency you’d expect.
On 27 minutes, scrum-half Lucy Packer sniped over from close-range after Abby Dow had been dragged down short.
That appeared to be it for the firsthalf, with Wales responding well to the set-back.
However, two quick-fire tries minutes before half-time changed the complexion of the first half.
First, fly-half Holly Aitchison guided a deft grubber through the Welsh defence for centre Tatyana Heard to latch onto for England’s second. Then, just before half-time, Aitchison turned provider again – with a looping pass finding Dow in space. From there, the winger evaded some would-be tacklers for a stunning solo score – a year after breaking her leg in the same fixture.
At half-time, the sun, perhaps fittingly, scarpered behind a cloud. By the time it emerged again near the end, England were well out of sight and beyond the half-century.
Having fought so hard to test England in the first-half, things started to unravel after the break.
The brilliant Aitchison produced a fine individual score for the bonus point before Jess Breach finished off a counter-attack minutes later for England’s fifth.
Ellie Kildunne crossed for the sixth, before Maud Muir and Hannah Botterman added scores after Wales replacement Kate Williams was sinbinned for a high tackle.
Towards the end, England were reduced to 13 after both Marlie Packer and May Campbell were sinbinned for high shots.
Despite that numerical disadvantage, England managed a ninth try through Sarah Beckett.