Lark Atkin-Davies bags four tries in Red Roses' second WXV 1 win
Week two of WXV 1 kicked off with a 2021 Rugby World Cup semi-final rematch between England and Canada. If that match last year was anything to go by, Dunedin fans were in for a nail-biter.
Four tries to England hooker Lark Atkin-Davies denied Canada another tight contest though, extending England’s win streak to seven.
England’s methodical territorial game was again a major factor in the match early but the world’s number one ranked side also backed their phase play more than last week.
Contributing to that higher phase play attack was a better-disciplined performance from Canada compared to England’s round-one opponent in Australia.
Ellie Kildunne was the first to strike, pouncing on an opportunistic fumble behind the Canadian try line after an ambitious short chip trough from Holly Aitchison.
Aitchison kicked six from six last week off the tee and picked up where she left off, nailing her first effort in round two.
After that, Canada’s set piece fronted up and denied England any pay from what is often their biggest strength. As the Canadians built into the game they also looked like the more clinical team with the ball in hand, finding ground through the middle and pushing the ball wide both through the hands and through cross-field kicks.
The clean skills were complimented by innovation as Canada turned a midfield carry into a rolling maul, claiming good metres before it collapsed and business as normal was resumed.
England’s handling was lacking at times and while their breakdown work and some superb clearances from Kildunne helped relieve moments of pressure, the Canadians’ execution wouldn’t let them off easy.
The Canadian momentum culminated in a cynical decision by Holly Aitchison, who, in a desperate effort to defend the last pass just 15 metres from her own try line, put her hand out and knocked the ball down. A yellow card was her punishment but despite Sophie de Goede’s pleas for a penalty try given Paige Farries’ finishing prowess, there was ruled to be enough cover to decline the seven points.
The Canadians wouldn’t have to wait long for their first points of the game though as mere seconds later they rumbled over the line off a lineout maul drive.
Being down a played and seeing their lead drop to just two points galvanised the English team, who struck back twice in the following eight minutes, both off rolling mauls of their own. The tries built a 21-5 lead for England as the teams entered the sheds for oranges.
Aitchison’s yellow had expired in the moments before halftime so both sides were back to their full complement to start the second period.
England’s intensity out of the sheds suggested coach John Mitchell had some clear instructions during the break, but again their execution let them down and Canada proved dangerous in broken play, running 60 metres with Paige Farries finishing the effort under the posts.
Time and time again, England looked to be at their most destructive striking in the moments after a Canadian try, and Lark Atkin-Davies claimed her third try of the match in the 50th minute to put a stop to Canada’s celebrations once more.
Helena Rowland took up the conversion responsibilities in Holly Aitchison’s absence and continued to nail them once her first five-eighth returned to the field.
A yellow card for Julia Schell added to the pain for Canada after an upright tackle saw the utility back make direct head contact.
England’s game management kicked into high gear in the third quarter, depriving Canada of any decent attacking opportunities and winning field position with relative ease, only to claim yet another lineout maul try. The score saw Atkin-Davies’ tally rise to four.
The score well and truly blew out as the game entered the final 10 minutes, courtesy of scintillating runs from Jess Breach and Claudia MacDonald.
The tries pushed the score to what would be the final result of 45-12. The match handed both teams some lessons heading into the final week of the tournament in Auckland.
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to comments