England dominated Canada 45-12 in the penultimate game of the WXV1 series; Lark Atkin-Davies scored four tries, while Emily Tuttosi and Paige Farries replied for the visitors; The Red Roses' final opponents are world champions New Zealand, who they face on November 4.
Saturday 28 October 2023 13:38, UK
England breezed past Canada in the penultimate game of the WXV1 series with an impressive 45-12 victory.
Lark Atkin-Davies was the star performer, racking up four tries in the game, all from line-out catch-and-drives. Jess Breach and Claudia MacDonald also touched down for Louis Deacon's side in Dunedin.
Canada tried to fashion a comeback in the second half, but England were too powerful to derail. The win sets up a meeting between the Red Roses and world champions New Zealand at Auckland's Mount Smart Stadium next week.
The Red Roses struck inside the opening 10 minutes, as Holly Aitchison stabbed a clever grubber behind the Canadian defence and onto their try line. Full-back Sarah-Maude Lachance fumbled the ball, which enabled Ellie Kildunne to swoop in behind her for the game's first score.
Canada regathered to threaten the English line, and went through 18 phases before Aitchison was judged to have made a deliberate knock-on, which saw her receive a yellow card. The Canucks took immediate advantage of the extra player from the resulting five-metre line out, as hooker Emily Tuttosi collected the ball and powered over the line.
Not to be outdone, Red Roses hooker Atkin-Davies scored two tries in four minutes - both off the back of dominant lineout rolling mauls, and with Helena Rowland successfully converting both, England led 21-5 at the break.
Canada struck early into the resumption, benefitting from an English handling error, they turned defence into immediate attack as outside centre Shoshanah Seumanutafa beat one defender with a pass into the path of Paige Farries, who cantered her way to the line unopposed from halfway.
But momentum shifted back in favour of England as Atkin-Davies claimed her hat-trick on 50 minutes, and fourth on the hour mark, in the same fashion as her previous two. Rowland converted one of them, for a 33-12 lead.
Kildunne provided the moment of the match with 12 minutes remaining in the Test. Making a break from 60 metres out, she rounded defenders before stepping back inside and switching with replacement Breach - who accelerated over the line for her 36th Test try.
England's seventh score was a superb MacDonald effort just minutes later, and confirmed a famous win for Louis Deacon's side, whose final WXV1 match will be a meeting with the Black Ferns on November 4.
Interim head coach Deacon still believes there are areas his world No 1-ranked side can still improve on.
He said: "We're not where we want to be and there's still a long way to go.
"We're on a journey with a new coaching team so we're learning all the time. But what is pleasing is that there is a balance coming into our game, and it is about understanding that balance."
Deacon praised a number of good performances from his England team, as they sealed an impressive win over a side
they also beat in last year's World Cup semi-final.
"I think they've been outstanding throughout the week," he said.
"Our preparation has been excellent and they put it out there on the pitch. It's pleasing how they went around the set-piece and in particular the line-out and maul, but there is still something to work on."
