Red Roses secure bonus-point win in Scotland
The Red Roses made it two wins from two in the Women's Six Nations as they beat Scotland at BT Murrayfield.
In defence of their Grand Slam last year, England secured a bonus-point win as they ran in eight tries in a game that was postponed for a day and moved to Edinburgh from Glasgow because of the impact of Storm Ciara.
England were ahead inside three minutes through Sarah Bern crashing over from short range, Emily Scarratt converting, before Scarratt added a simple penalty in the rain.
Scarratt turned provider when her looping miss pass allowed Jess Breach to race in for her 21st try in 12 Tests, before a stunning individual score from fellow wing Abby Dow who hit an excellent line on the halfway line and beat four defenders to score on the right wing.
England led 22-0 at the turn and it took three minutes into the second half to go over when Emily Scott danced through the defence to dot down, and she had her second shortly after when Zoe Harrison’s crossfield kick caused confusion and she reacted first.
Dow’s second, her 13th in 11 Tests, came from a well worked handling move to the right wing for her to slide over before a powerful five-metre scrum saw captain Sarah Hunter control it to the line to cross, Scarratt adding the extras.
And Claudia McDonald scored late on for an eighth Red Roses try with Scarratt sending over the conversion to see her become England women's greatest ever points scorer.
Scotland, who had 13 players in their match day squad who play in Tyrrells Premier 15s, struggled with England’s powerful forward play and have now lost the last 22 meetings in a row with the Red Roses.
Riding the storm
The match was moved to Edinburgh from Glasgow after it the delay of 24 hours after the effects of Storm Ciara at Glasgow's at Scotstoun Stadium on Sunday 9 February, and played behind closed doors because of continuing safety concerns, with only players’ friends and family allowed into Murrayfield.
Conditions, however, were still incredibly challenging in the Scottish capital on Monday, with sleet and driving wind in the warm-up. The match kicked off under sunshine and blue skies, but that did last long with rain, sleet and snow returning intermittently throughout the 80 minutes.
It made playing difficult for both sides with a number of knock-ons and handling errors but England were dominant in territory and possession, with the Scots not making it into the English 22 until the 34th minute.
Along with a dominant forward performance, the intelligent kicking game of Zoe Harrison, Scarratt and finisher Katy Daley-Mclean kept England on top throughout, with the back three scoring five of England’s eight tries.
Red Roses’ record
Loughborough Lightning centre Scarratt’s haul of 13 points during the game saw her surpass teammate Katy Daley-Mclean as England Women’s highest ever points scorer on 539.
It was another impressive performance for the World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year on top of her kicking game as she also assisted tries for Breach and Scott.
TEAMS
Scotland
15. Chloe Rollie, 14. Rhona Lloyd, 13. Lisa Thomson, 12. Helen Nelson, 11. Evie Tonkin, 10. Sarah Law, 9. Mairi McDonald; 1. Leah Bartlett, 2. Lana Skeldon, 3. Mairi Forsyth, 4. Emma Wassell, 5. Sarah Bonar, 6. Rachel Malcolm (C), 7. Rachel McLachlan, 8. Jade Konkel.
Replacements
16. Molly Wright, 17. Panashe Muzambe, 18. Lisa Cockburn, 19. Siobhan Cattigan, 20. Louise McMillan, 21. Rachel Law, 22. Annabel Sergeant, 23. Coreen Grant.
England
15. Emily Scott, 14. Abby Dow, 13. Emily Scarratt (VC), 12. Amber Reed, 11. Jess Breach, 10. Zoe Harrison, 9. Natasha Hunt; 1. Vickii Cornborough, 2. Lark Davies , 3. Sarah Bern, 4. Poppy Cleall, 5. Zoe Aldcroft, 6. Sarah Beckett, 7. Vicky Fleetwood, 8 Sarah Hunter (C).
Finishers
16. Amy Cokayne, 17. Hannah Botterman, 18. Shaunagh Brown, 19. Harriet Millar-Mills, 20. Amelia Harper, 21. Claudia MacDonald, 22. Katy Daley-Mclean, 23. Sarah McKenna.
FIXTURES
- Round one: France Women 13-19 Red Roses
- Round two: Scotland Women 0-53 Red Roses
- Round three: Sunday 23 February - Red Roses v Ireland Women - buy tickets here.
Castle Park, Doncaster (KO 1245 GMT, Sky Sports Action, Sky Sports YouTube) - Round four: Saturday 7 March - Red Roses v Wales Women - buy tickets here.
Twickenham Stoop, London (KO 1205 GMT, Sky Sports Action and Mix, Sky Sports YouTube) - Round five: Sunday 15 March - Italy Women v Red Roses
Stadio Plebiscito, Padova (KO 1330 GMT, Sky Sports Action and Mix, Sky Sports YouTube)
