In a David v Goliath match, the giants England won a brutal encounter against Samoa which displayed the disparity between nations as 11 of the Red Roses shared 14 tries in a colossal win. Half of Samoa’s squad had to fundraise to be able to attend this Rugby World Cup with no contracts in place, and some have taken unpaid leave from their jobs to represent their country. England, on the other hand, have been a professional outfit for more than five years and have now swept aside their opponents in 59 of their last 60 matches, that one loss coming in the last World Cup final.
Among the try scorers as England reached the quarter-finals was the hat-trick heroine Jess Breach, and the first try was a special one for the 27-year-old as it was her 50th for her country. Breach is only the fifth Red Roses player to score 50 tries, after Sue Day, Nicky Crawford, Emily Scarratt and Marlie Packer. The centre Meg Jones got on the board twice, and had not been in the starting XV at the beginning of this week, but an injury to Scarratt led to her promotion. The Cardiff-born centre’s contributions across the pitch were outstanding as her prowess in an England shirt only grows.
