Unbeaten England get act together
ENGLAND U20s captain Steph Else hailed her side for ‘putting on a show' after they dispatched Wales 55-24 in an entertaining clash.
Else's side recovered from a slow start to run in nine tries and preserve their unbeaten run in a meeting of contrasting styles.
“The girls put on a show,” said Else, who plays for PWR champions Gloucester-Hartpury. “Wales came at us and were a very physical side but we managed to turn that around and we pulled out the win.”
It was a forgettable start for England at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, as Lucy Isaac dotted down to give Wales a surprise early lead. But sublime tries from Niamh Swailes and Millie Hyett as well as a sensational brace from Evelyn Clarke and lineout score from Kira Leat ensured England had a 29-7 half-time lead.
England scored first in the second half through prop Leat but passed up three close-range scores to give Wales a sniff as Maisie Davies, Cadi-Lois Davies and Molly Wakely crossed.
Further tries from Millie David, Ellie Roberts and Sophie Langford put the game to bed and Else added: “It wasn't the start we wanted but we just needed to tighten up and take a deep breath.
“Once we sorted out those errors, we were rolling.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday, France ran in 11 tries from 11 different scorers to beat Scotland 69-10.
Claire Cruikshank's side endured a tough start when two players were forced off injured but scored the first try of the game through flanker Gemma Bell.
France hit back before the break with tries from Suliana Sivi, Hawa Tounkara, Lea Trollier and Amalia Bazola. Anna De Almeida, Patrice-Grace Libali, Eneka Labeyrie,
Zoe Jean, Mae Levy, Kelly Arbey and Alice Grandhomme all scored in the second half.
“Everyone is disappointed,” Cruikshank said. “We were up against one of the best U20 teams in the world and we've been competitive. Maybe the scoreline doesn't reflect that and the second half ran away from us but we're really proud of the effort.”
Martina Busana scored two tries as Italy secured a bonus-point 24-17 win against Ireland to maintain their winning start. Vittoria Zanette and Greta Copat also crossed, while Ireland's tries came from Ivana Kiripati and two from replacement Kelly Burke.
Burke said: “I was delighted to be selected. I am from a small place in Ireland (Mullingar) and everyone knew in the space of five minutes.
“I am just so grateful for the opportunity to experience this level of rugby because I have just come up from U18s.”
