| England: (24) 46 |
| Tries: Muir, Aldcroft, Botterman, Atkin-Davies, Kildunne 2, Dow, Galligan Cons: Aitchison 3 |
| Wales: (3) 10 |
| Try: Bevan Pen: George Con: George |
England scored eight tries to hammer Wales at Ashton Gate in front of a record crowd of 19,705 for a Red Roses game outside of Twickenham.
John Mitchell’s side scored four first-half tries in a dominant opening period through Maud Muir, Zoe Aldcroft, Hannah Botterman and Lark Atkin-Davies.
After the break Ellie Kildunne and Abby Dow scored tries for England before Keira Bevan finally got over for Wales.
Lock Rosie Galligan responded and Kildunne grabbed a brilliant second.
Victory means the Red Roses, who return to the top of the table after France’s win over Scotland earlier on Saturday, remain on track to secure a third successive Grand Slam and a sixth successive Six Nations title.
England play Scotland next on 13 April, while Wales travel to Ireland looking to claim their first win.
England start fast in front of record crowd
The decision to play the game in Bristol ensured both sets of supporters – either side of the border – were able to easily pack into Ashton Gate.
With the atmosphere rocking on a record-breaking day, England wasted no time in entertaining when Abby Dow took off down the right wing before prop Muir powered over close to the tryline.
Head coach John Mitchell has been clear from the start of the tournament that he will rotate his squad heavily as he gets to know his player group before the home World Cup in 2025.
Mitchell made seven changes for the game and centre Megan Jones wasted no time in justifying her selection, posing a constant attacking threat throughout.
Following Aldcroft’s try on her 50th cap, Jones broke clear before finding Jess Breach with a neat grubber kick. England then recycled the ball quickly for Botterman to grab the third try.
In Parma against Italy, the Red Roses started slowly with a number of handling errors before clicking into gear to score six second-half tries and open their Six Nations with victory.
A lack of urgency or tempo was not a problem in Bristol as Atkin-Davies scored off the back of a maul to grab England’s bonus-point try inside the first 40 minutes.
One negative that does continue to haunt the Red Roses is goal kicking, with Holly Aitchison, like Zoe Harrison in Italy, struggling off the tee with only three conversions.
Wales’ struggles continue
Wales narrowly lost to Scotland last weekend when Lleucu George missed a last-gasp conversion to draw the game.
Star wing Jasmine Joyce, who impressed against Scotland, was a late injury withdrawal for the game in Bristol because of a hamstring strain.
Despite the setbacks, Ioan Cunningham’s side spent large portions of the first half in England’s 22, but failed to convert as Joyce’s cutting edge was missed.
The Red Roses on the other hand continued to be clinical as Kildunne and Dow dived over in the corner early in the second half.
The pick of the second-half scores came from Kildunne, who dotted down her second double in as many weeks, under enormous pressure.
The defeat was at least an improvement on Wales’ 59-3 loss against England in last year’s championship, but the gap still remains wide.
Another loss means Cunningham’s side are winless in five matches, while the Red Roses are yet to lose since the World Cup final defeat by New Zealand in 2022.
Line-ups
England: Kildunne; Dow, Jones, Heard, Breach; Aitchison, Hunt; Botterman, Atkin-Davies, Muir, Aldcroft, Galligan, Kabeya, Packer (capt), Matthews.
Replacements: Powell, Carson, Clifford, Ward, Feaunati, Packer, Harrison, Gregson.
Wales: Hesketh; Neumann, Jones, Lake, Cox; George, Jones; Pyrs, Phillips, Rose, Fleming, Evans, Williams, Callender, Lewis.
Replacements: Reardon, Constable, Tuipulotu, John, Butchers, Bevan, Powell, Metcalfe.
Referee: Kat Roche