England keep their Grand Slam hopes alive after a resounding 49-5 victory over Ireland in Cork on Sunday, although the home side demanded hard work from them, especially in the first half.
This victory extends England’s winning streak over Ireland to more than a decade, but the “Red Roses'” struggles in the first half contrasted with the first 40 minutes of last year’s championship, where they achieved a score of 88-10.
England’s physical superiority became evident in the second half, where they scored six tries, dampening the enthusiasm of the home crowd.
This bonus-point victory keeps England ahead of France, who are in second place, before their likely title showdown in two weeks.
It was really difficult, especially in the first half. We tried to be patient. Ireland’s defense was fantastic, so credit to them. We needed to regain our momentum.
Zoe Harrison, England fly-half
After a combative first 25 minutes in which their solid defense frustrated the “Red Roses”, the hosts took the lead when Amee-Leigh Costigan outpaced Abby Dow after a pass from Dannah O’Brien, becoming the first Irish woman to score a try against England in over six years.
England responded nine minutes later, when Morwenna Talling finished a driving maul.
John Mitchell’s team received a boost after the break, when Ireland were left with 14 players due to the yellow card to Niamh O’Dowd for repeated infringements.
However, England’s difficulties were exposed when star Ellie Kildunne failed to control the ball after a delicate kick from Jess Breach.
Fortunately for Kildunne, Harrison scored England’s second try, breaking the defense and converting the try.
With morale high after 50 minutes of effort, England added a third try when Dow assisted Natasha Hunt.
Sarah Bern secured the bonus point for England near the hour mark, and then added another try in the 67th minute.
Kildunne redeemed himself from his previous mistake by scoring his fourth try of the championship.
Kelsey Clifford scored her first international try in the final minutes, registering England’s seventh try.
We really enjoyed that challenge. We needed it and it’s good for the game to have a first half like that. It was about fixing it and we knew we had a good attacking game. We just didn’t finish and throw our last shot. The girls were very calm and went out to finish the job. You have to keep it very simple, so we thought: ‘let’s clear it up’, and we did.
Lou Meadows, England attack coach
On Saturday, France defeated Wales in Brive, where Émilie Boulard marked her return with two tries.
