England bulldoze dismal Scots in front of 30,000 people
Scotland 7-84 England
Scotland were never going to beat the Red Roses but they were definitely expected to do better than they did. The home team showed some promise in the first five minutes when they were camped inside England's 22. Unfortunately, they failed to capitalise and things only got worse from there. Helen Nelson kicked the ball out on the full twice in open play, killing any momentum that her team had, and then Scotland tried to overcompensate. Shona Campbell was caught out when she opted to attempt to beat 3 English defenders in her own 22 instead of clearing a ball. She was brought down by an excellent tap-tackle from Demelza Short on debut. Scotland then persisted with their play in their own half which resulted in a turnover and an English try. Scotland are better than they showed on Saturday, but this will sting for a while.
As for England, they dealt with only having one lock very well indeed. Abi Burton stepped in, despite never playing there before, and did very well. Demelza Short made her England debut at blindside flanker and provided a third line-out option in an excellent debut for the 19-year-old. Elsewhere, Ellie Kildunne's move to the left wing was a success, leading to a first half brace and Sing, who replaced Kildunne at fullback, added one of her own. There were plenty of positives in this game for England, who look to have shaken off the rust from last week, but there are bigger tests to come.
Wales remain winless but showed signs of promise
Wales 7-38 France
For the second week in a row, Wales looked good but failed to win at home. This time, they were level at 7-7 with France after 40 minutes before being brushed aside in the second half. The Welsh pack showed up once again, and forced a penalty try in the first half, but the depth was shown up again. Wales will now target Italy as their shot at a first victory in nearly a year.
France have now won 2-from-2 but will be left with questions after 2 of the 4 halves they played were far too tight. They will also have to go forward without Vernier after she dislocated an AC joint. France will have to play better next week if they are to see off a highly motivated Ireland team next week.
Ireland cement their mid-table dominance against Italy
Ireland 57-20 Italy
This game was over by half-time with Ireland up 45-10 at the break. Parsons scored a hat-trick as she played a starring role in the victory whilst Wafer led from the front with her own score. Italy will be bitterly disappointed with this result and will be looking at their game against Scotland as a must-win occasion given Scotland's performance against England on Saturday.
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