Women's Six Nations 2023: England secure scrappy 48-0 win over Ireland in Cork

England's Marlie Packer scored her side's fourth try before going off injured

Eight tries for England saw them secure an error-strewn 48-0 victory over Ireland in Cork in the Women's Six Nations.

After a nervy start, England snapped into action with first-half tries from Sarah Beckett, Tatyana Heard, Ellie Kildunne, Marlie Packer and Morwenna Talling - plus a conversion from Lagi Tuima - handing the Red Roses a comprehensive 27-0 bonus-point lead at half-time.

However, Ireland showed their defensive steel in the second half and kept England quiet for 30 minutes.

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With just 10 minutes remaining, England finally found the line again, a double from Alex Matthews, plus a try for Amber Reed, wrapping up the win.

Story of the game

After taking a few moments to find their feet, England made an impact after just two minutes as Beckett went over in the corner following a Hannah Botterman turnover in Ireland's half.

Although Ireland tried to wrestle the momentum back through the scrum, the Red Roses remained patient and got their reward in the 15th minute as Heard finished off a Holly Aitchison pass in the corner.

Tatyana Heard got on the scoresheet once again for England

The visitors increased their lead just six minutes later as a Beckett break was rounded off a few phases later as Kildunne went in through the gap, the bonus point being secured in the 26th minute as captain Packer finished off a short pass right near the sticks.

With just a few minutes remaining of the first half, an injured Packer was replaced by Talling and she made an immediate impact, scoring a try off the rolling maul and Tuima adding the extras to give England a 27-0 lead at the break.

Ireland came out for the second half with intent and attacked England's breakdown, 11 handling errors early on hampering the Red Roses' progress as the match became scrappy.

Although Ireland had much-improved possession, they could not make it count, despite multiple phases in England territory, and remained scoreless

Maud Muir had to front up in the forwards as England struggled in the second half

England's first chance of the second 40 came with just over 10 minutes remaining as Kildunne thought she had romped in for her second try but the pass from Sarah Bern to Helena Rowland in the build-up was judged as forward.

However, just a couple of minutes later, as they threaded the phases together, Reed barrelled over, Rowland adding the extras to increase England's lead.

With England finding some consistency late on, they rounded off the match as Matthews went in under the sticks before finishing off a scrum drive to seal her double and the 48-0 win.

What they said

England's Natasha 'Mo' Hunt on her return to the side:

"It is a bit bittersweet at the moment," Hunt told BBC Sport. "We are very frustrated with how we went about it and the ball wasn't clean.

"Ireland did a real job on us but I am so proud to be back out there with the girls.

"It is always an honour to put on this shirt and it is held in high regard, so when we put in performances like that we still come off a little bit frustrated."

What's next?

Next up for England is a huge tournament-defining clash with France at Twickenham on Saturday April 29 at 1pm. For Ireland, a trip to Scotland awaits, with kick-off at 7.30pm.