England Women record second win in Under 20s Nations Cup

England Women Under 20s 22 Canada A Under 20s 0



England Women recorded their second win in the Under 20s Nations Cup in Toronto, Canada on Monday night, with an impressive 22-0 victory against Canada A.

The England young guns touched down for four tries, including a brace of tries for Bath’s Nicola Hoole, and kicked one conversion to secure the victory just two days after beating Canada 31-5. They will now play Home Nations rivals Wales on Wednesday, as they bid to secure their place in the Nations Cup final on Saturday.

In another physical and hard fought clash, England kicked off their challenge early on with the side opting to kick to the corner, instead of taking a penalty kick at goal after just three minutes. Bath No. 8 Hoole secured the ball from the line-out and scored in the corner.

Saracens fly-half April Brown missed the conversion but England soon stretch their lead to a 10 point cushion with Old Albanian Saints centre Sarah McKenna claiming the second try on 17 minutes.

The score came after continued pressure from England, with the ball moved through several phases of play, with McKenna finally taking the ball from the ruck to dive over and score in the corner. Brown again missed the conversion, but England headed into the break with a comfortable 10-0 lead.

Minutes after the restart and forward Hoole was back in the heart of the action. England again took advantage of another good attacking line-out just five metres out from Canada A’s line. Lichfield hooker Vicky Fleetwood secured the ball and then moved it out to Hoole who drove over the line to score.

Ivel Barbarians’ Charlotte Male then claimed England’s fourth and final try with 15 minutes left on the clock. England were again attacking well and the ball was moved across the pitch to open up space. Male then pounced on the ball and outpaced the Canadian defence to score in the corner. Brown this time added the conversion, handing England the 22-0 victory.

England Under 20s Head Coach Giselle Mather said: “I was very pleased with the way all the players stood up to the challenge. For a number of players it was their first time starting in an England shirt, and they stood up to the challenge and were counted.

“The first-half performance was again very promising but the heat took its toll and the number of substitutions we made in the second-half meant that some of the continuity we had was lost.

“We are now really looking forward to the Welsh challenge on Wednesday. A win there will take us into the final.”

England U20s

1 Laura Keates © (Worcester), 2 Vicky Fleetwood (Lichfield), 3 Elizabeth Peake (Lakenham Hewitt), 4 Juliet Short (Darlington Mowden Park), 5 Charlotte Male (Ivel Barbarians), 6 Brigit Reeves (Leeds Leos), 7 Hannah Field (Reading), 8 Nicola Hoole (Bath), 9 Rachel Fraser (Morpeth), 10 April Brown (Saracens), 11 Samantha Bree (Worcester), 12 Sarah Graham (Lichfield), 13 Sarah McKenna (Old Albanian Saints), 14 Georgina Crabb (Camberley), 15 Kimberley Davy (Richmond). Replacements: 16 Vicky Cornborough (Richmond), 17 Davinia Monteiro (Wasps), 18 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond), 19 Sarah Guest (Worcester), 20 Clare Garner (Doncaster), 21 Rose Fong (Darlington Mowden Park), 22 Natasha Hunt (Bath), 23 Emily Scarratt (Lichfield).

Tries: Hoole (2), McKenna, Male
Conversions: Male
Substitutions: Burnfield on for Field (blood) (18), Field on for Burnfield (blood reverse) (28), Cornborough on for Keates, Fong on for McKenna (HT), Burnfield on for Short (50), Monterio on for Hoole (52), Hunt on for Bree (63), Guest on for Field (73), Scarratt on for Fong (74).

Under 20s Nations Cup Schedule:

All games to be played at Appleby College in Toronto

Friday July 11th
Wales v Canada A, KO 530pm
England v Canada KO 710pm (1210am BST) WON 31-5

Monday July 14th
England v Canada A KO 530pm (1030pm BST) WON 22-0
Canada v Wales KO 710 pm

Wednesday July 16th:
England v Wales KO 7pm (12am BST)

Saturday July 19th:
Championship Final KO 5pm (10pm BST)

by Julia Hutton