Red Roses claim bonus-point win against Ireland
The Red Roses ran seven tries to claim a 5-49 bonus-point win over Ireland at Virgin Media Park in the third round of the 2025 Guinness Women's Six Nations.
England’s tries came from Morwenna Talling, Zoe Harrison, Meg Jones, Ellie Kildunne, Kelsey Clifford and two-a-piece for Sarah Bern, topped up by 12 points from Harrison’s boot and two from Aitchison's. Ireland’s came from Amee-Lee Costigan.
The Red Roses came out strong having multiple attempts in attack in the first 10 minutes, but the robust Irish defence forced errors from the Red Roses leaving them unable to add to the scoreboard despite being metres from the try-line.
The next 15 minutes saw the ball travel the length of the pitch multiple times as each side took turns to attack. Abbie Ward's formidable defence prevented the hosts from scoring from close range, while Ireland's calm and collected defence, and multiple clear outs from Dannah O'Brien kept the scoreboard untouched.
It was not until the 25-minute mark that points were added. The hosts entered England’s 22, and the clinical grubber kick collected by Costigan saw the number 11 crash over the line and claim the day's first try. They were unable to add the extras.
Closing in on the half time whistle and an England line out followed by a dominant set piece saw England’s Talling power over the line. Harrison successfully converted, giving England a slight 5-7 lead which they held until the break.
Despite a close score, the half time stats showed the Red Roses to have made more than double the metres than that of their opposition, travelling 365 metres compared to Ireland’s 155.
England brought a new lease of energy at the resumption as Jess Breach looked to score after 30 seconds, but a TMO determined her to be in touch.
Six minutes in, England had a player advantage after Ireland's Niamh O'Dowd was handed a yellow card for continued scrum infractions, which the visitors were able to capitalise on. Metres from the try-line, a recycled ball from Mo Hunt and two quick phases of play found Harrison, who powered over the line from close range. The number 10 converted her own try, extending the Red Roses lead to nine points.
England continued their scoring streak claiming two tries close together. Kildunne and Abby Dow sprinted from the half way line outrunning two Irish defence before offloading to Jones to cross the whitewash.
The second came from a short sprint from Jones. Two passes later, Bern flew onto the ball, ran the final 10 metres to crash over the try-line and seal England's bonus point. Harrison successfully converted both tries pushing the score to 5-28.
Just over 10 minutes until full time and the Red Roses added another two scores to their try tally. Bern crossed for the second time from close range, and Kildunne sprinted past two Ireland players, crossing the white line for her first try of the game. Harrison kicked both conversions extending the lead to 37 points.
Kildunne's try makes her the top try scorer of the Six Nations so far, scoring four across the first three rounds.
The visitors did not take their foot off the pedal claiming their seventh try of the game at minute 75. Crafty footwork from Aitchison and a quick offload helped Clifford hold off Irish defence and power over for her first-ever international try. Aitchison added the extras making the score 5-49.
The Red Roses held off Ireland from scoring in the final few minutes and closed the game by winning 5-49.
Match highlights
