England march on but Wales left with some positives
England 62-24 Wales
The first game of the third round of this competition took place at a sold-out Ashton Gate in Bristol. England won comfortably but the Welsh put up a good fight and, in the 80th minute, they were able to secure a bonus point when Lockwood scored her team's fourth try.
England will be fairly happy with that result but, as Emily Scarratt said after the game, the Red Roses weren't overjoyed about their performance. For a team with such high standards, conceding 24 points to the team ranked 12th in the World falls below expectations. Millie David scored on her England debut for England in a stadium in which she has already had success with her club side. Her debut was ended prematurely after she failed an HIA in the first half. Sadia Kabeya was also forced off due to injury in the first half and was replaced by Demelza Short. England will have to regroup in time for their final games against Italy and France but the Red Roses have already secured their annual Triple Crown.
Big questions to answer for Sione Fukofuka
Italy 41-14 Scotland
After suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the English at Murrayfield last weekend, Scotland needed to bounce back strongly away in Italy this weekend. That response didn't come. Instead, the Scots found themselves 29-0 down at the break before only winning the second half 14-12 despite Italy being given three yellow cards. Sione Fukofuka has received glowing reviews for his attacking approach since taking over after the World Cup but he'll have to go back to basics soon. Scotland's defence is much more leaky than it used to be and will need to be massively improved before they take on France. If they leave it as is, France's flair could be enough to replicate the events of Murrayfield.
Ireland come up short once again
France 26-7 Ireland
This was a very real chance for Ireland to finally record a win against one of the big four in women's rugby. Instead, they suffered the same type of loss as usual in which they huff and puff without getting anywhere then concede tries very quickly. The Irish scored first and were level at the break but never got into the second half. Their quest for momentum wasn't helped by Dannah O'Brien missing touch on two crucial penalty kicks. If she has a bad day, Ireland have a bad day and that's what happened on Saturday evening. Ireland will now look to target Italy and Wales on their mission to secure 3rd and win 3 games in this tournament. If they can't catch the top two, they can at least separate themselves from the others.
Add comment
Comments