Scotland’s Six Nations campaign struggled to get going as they fell to England at Kingston Park. Rachel Malcolm’s side took 75 minutes to show some of their potential against the Red Roses who ran in 10 tries as Sarah Hunter, England’s most capped player, retired from the sport.
“Today if we are being realistic was never going to be the day when we were going to turn around our losing run. We always go in with belief and will to win for our country, but we are just not there yet in terms of England,” reflected Malcolm.
“I think there were some really promising parts for us, there were a number of younger and newer faces in there and they grew as the game went on. When we had opportunities we were much more direct than we were in the World Cup and we were breaking the defence a lot more.
“We can take confidence from that and we have to build on it ahead of another challenge against Wales next Saturday which we have to be ready for.”
Scotland had the lion’s share of possession early on but their line-out just outside England’s 22 was stolen, thwarting an opportunity to score first.
Minutes later, England’s co-captain Marlie Packer burst through Scotland’s line, deep into the visitors’ half. A few phases later and some quick hands saw the Red Roses ship the ball wide into the hands of Claudia MacDonald who crossed the try line to open the scoring.
Scotland came close to equalising moments later but Emma Orr’s try was disallowed by the TMO who deemed the grounding insufficient.
England methodically worked their way back into Scottish territory and after the pack continued to make up the hard yards, the ball travelled through the backs and Jess Breach set-up an out of place Amy Cokayne who scored in the corner for England’s second.
After a scrum on halfway, space opened up wide for England and they exploited Scotland’s lapse in concentration. Macdonald found herself with acres of green grass and crossed the line for her second time in Newcastle.
Scotland continued to play the majority of the first half in their own territory, allowing the hosts to secure the bonus point through Tatyana Heard. The Geordie crowd welcomed the replacement over the line with open arms.
England would get one more before the half-time whistle. The driving maul helped Cokayne to her second try for England to lead comfortably at the break.
Less than two minutes after play resumed, Poppy Cleall split the Scottish defenders just metres from the try line, rumbling over for England’s sixth, swiftly followed by Sadia Kabeya, scoring a magnificent seventh.
England’s maul continued to cause chaos. Packer was on the back of two drives that scored in quick succession, putting the game firmly out of reach.
Scotland would be spared the misery of heading north with no points. Chloe Rollie raced through the England defenders who appeared somewhat taken back by the spark Scotland had conjured up. The full-back scored and Helen Nelson converted.
Scotland saved their best rugby until the dying stages of the match. Rollie’s try re-energised the team and she was soon through England’s lines once more. Hopes of a second score were ultimately vanquished by the final whistle.
Head coach Bryan Easson said: “I thought there was a lot of real positives in there, the first 20 and last 10 in particular we showed glimpses of what we can do.
“To see eight players coming on, finish with a bunch of kids really and finish the way they did shows the growth of this group.
“We gave too much ascendancy to England but when a team like that get on the front foot they are very difficult and their attacking conducts were impossible to slow down.
“We have a lot of injuries right now and to play against one of the best teams in the world with the players we’ve got out, it just shows the growth in Scotland women’s rugby.”
Next up for the Scots is Wales, who secured a bonus-point victory over Ireland with a ruthless first-half performance where they scored four tries. The game at Cardiff Arms Park finished 31-5.
Scorers, England – Tries: MacDonald 2, Cokayne 2, Heard, Cleall, Kabeya, Packer 3 Cons: Reed, Tuima 3.
Scotland – Try: Rollie Con: Nelson
England: A Dow (E Sing 61), J Breach, L Tuima, A Reed (T Heard 19), C MacDonald, H Aitchison, L Packer (E Wyrwas 61), M Carson (L Davies 62), A Cokayne (L Crake 62), S Bern (K Clifford 62), Z Aldcroft (S Beckett 61), P Cleall, S Kabeya, M Packer, S Hunter (C O’Donnell 59)
Scotland: C Rollie, C Grant (L Musgrove 51), E Orr, M Smith (B Blacklock 64), F McGhie, H Nelson, C Mattinson (M McDonald 53), L Bartlett (A Young 62), L Skeldon (J Rettie 53), C Belisle (E Clarke 51), L O’Donnell (E Donaldson 62), L McMillan,R Malcolm (E Sinclair 64), R McLachlan, E Gallagher
Referee: A Barrett-Theron
Attendance: 10,053.
