England head coach John Mitchell says there is more to come from his side following their 69-7 opening Women’s Rugby World Cup win against the United States.
The Red Roses kicked off the tournament in front of a record-breaking crowd of 42,723 at the Stadium of Light, scoring 11 tries.
“It was a fantastic atmosphere, to represent your country in the opening match,” Mitchell said. “I think we built into the performance slowly and lifted our intensity in the second half.
“We’ve only just got started and there’s a lot of growth left in us.”
Red Roses full-back Ellie Kildunne put in an impressive display to be named player of the match
“I really enjoyed the way the girls built pressure on USA. We forced their negativity, I guess, and then we took advantage of that.”
As well as notching their first points of the World Cup, victory also extended England’s winning run to 28 games in total.
The second half proved to be a particularly ruthless display from the Red Roses against a team ranked 10th in the world.
“Firstly, we’re the Red Roses. Even before my time they’ve set outstanding standards,” he said.
“We’re in a fortunate position, we’re also grateful to have great depth. We’re constantly creating pressure.
Loosehead prop Hannah Botterman was another standout performer and among the try scorers
“The girls are extremely driven and don’t like to be beaten, like anyone, they don’t like to fail.
“Our training standards are very high and it’s up to us as leaders to make sure that we maintain that on a daily basis.
“That’s in our control, we can’t control outside of that. We can’t control where teams are ranked, we’ve just got to deal with what we’re confronted with.
“As I said earlier in the week, we’re hunted and we love being hunted. Every team’s going to rise physically and mentally 10 or 15 per cent, we expect that, but we’re also going to grow as well.”
Ellie Kildunne put in a particularly-impressive shift across the back three and Mitchell also praised England’s scrum, adding that there were still areas to improve.
He said: “It’s good to see Ellie back on the field, doing what she loves doing. She’s very intuitive and her skillset was very good tonight.
Kildunne, 2024’s world player of the year, scored twice as well as assisting twice at the Stadium of Light
“That’s an individual, but then you’ve got to go and look at some of the effort areas by other players and also the scrum was outstanding tonight.
“The scrum buried USA. Numerous penalties probably could have sent some players to the bin as well because of continued negativity in that area.
“We’ll just go where we can apply pressure, if it has to be in the scrum.
“You can’t just always rely on individuals and as this tournament progresses, we’re going to have to get even better in our connections and working together.”
What’s next?
England play their second Pool A fixture against Samoa on Saturday August 30 at Northampton’s Franklin’s Gardens (5pm).
The USA’s second Rugby World Cup Pool A clash comes against Australia in York on Saturday August 30 (7.30pm).
The redesigned Women’s Rugby World Cup trophy awaits its next champion – but who will claim it in 2025?
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 schedule
Pool stage
Pool A
August 22: England 69-7 United States – Sunderland
August 23: Australia vs Samoa – Salford, 12pm
August 30: England vs Samoa – Northampton, 5pm
August 30: United States vs Australia – York, 7.30pm
September 6: United States vs Samoa – York, 1.30pm
September 6: England vs Australia – Brighton, 5pm
Pool B
August 23: Scotland vs Wales – Salford, 2.45pm
August 23: Canada vs Fiji – York, 5.30pm
August 30: Canada vs Wales – Salford, 12pm
August 30: Scotland vs Fiji – Salford, 2.45pm
September 6: Canada vs Scotland – Exeter, 12pm
September 6: Wales vs Fiji – Exeter, 2.45pm
Pool C
August 24: Ireland vs Japan – Northampton, 12pm
August 24: New Zealand vs Spain – York, 5.30pm
August 31: Ireland vs Spain – Northampton, 12pm
August 31: New Zealand vs Japan – Exeter, 2pm
September 7: Japan vs Spain – York, 12pm
September 7: New Zealand vs Ireland – Brighton, 2.45pm
Pool D
August 23: France vs Italy – Exeter, 8.15pm
August 24: South Africa vs Brazil – Northampton, 2.45pm
August 31: Italy vs South Africa – York, 3.30pm
August 31: France vs Brazil – Exeter, 4.45pm
September 7: Italy vs Brazil – Northampton, 2pm
September 7: France vs South Africa – Northampton, 4.45pm
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Yarmouth and Hereford host Monday racing – live on Sky
Flat racing from Yarmouth accompanies the return of Jumps to Hereford – live on Sky Sports Racing on Monday afternoon.2.30 Yarmouth - Calafiori bids to defy 6lb riseCalafiori will bid to defy a 6lb penalty in the bettingsites.co.uk Betting Sites Nursery Handicap at Yarmouth. George Boughey's charge had been on a luckless run of form earlier in the campaign, finishing second on no fewer than five occasions. That sequence came to an end when he broke his maiden at Brighton on August 31, making rapid headway late on to deny Mythical Night. He has since won at Pontefract over six furlongs and holds strong claims to score again in the double green colours of Munir and Souede, despite an extra 6lbs on his back.The Amo Racing silks are to be carried by Stardinia here - a two-year-old filly still awaiting […]
Makhmudov now targets AJ: ‘Can he handle the power?’
Arslanbek Makhmudov expects his victory over Dave Allen to put him in contention for a 2026 fight with Anthony Joshua.Joshua's team is planning for AJ to box once, possibly twice, before a fight with one of the big names in the division next summer. Makhmudov put in a dominant, unanimous-decision win over Allen in Sheffield at the weekend.With no opponent yet set for Joshua's comeback fight, Makhmudov believes he could be in the reckoning. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Watch highlights of Arslanbek Makhmudov's dominant TKO victory against Raphael Akpejiori Camille Estephan, Makhmudov's promoter, wants Joshua for him next. "Definitely I think it would be a great fight," Estephan told Sky Sports. "Arslanbek has shown against Allen that he has more than just nuclear power. The question remains though, can AJ handle Makhmudov's power? I […]
NFL Week 6 Team of the Week: Rico Dowdle Stays Hot; Smith-Njigba Continues Rise
Each week, we’ll offer up the very best of the NFL for a given week, kind of like the fantasy football team you wished you had.We’ll pick one quarterback, two running backs, two receivers and a tight end – OK, this is sounding a lot like a super-hindsight fantasy football team – as a way to look back on the weekend that was.An unlikely running back returns to the team, while wide receiver features two players who are ascending to stardom:QB: Drake Maye, PatriotsThe second-year quarterback already has four multi-touchdown games in six weeks this season – Sunday was 18-for-26 for 261 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, and he led the Patriots in rushing with 28 yards. New England is off to a 4-2 start after finishing 4-13 last season. Few quarterbacks in the league have less to work […]
Patrick Mahomes, Brian Branch Involved in Lions vs. Chiefs Post-Game Scuffle
An intense primetime battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions didn't end after the final whistle Sunday night as the bad blood spilled over post-game.A heated scuffle broke out in the final seconds of a 30-17 Chiefs win after an altercation between Patrick Mahomes and Lions safety Brian Branch. Mahomes looked to shake hands with Branch, but the safety ignored his attempt, prompting his wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to come to his defense.Branch, taking exception to the wideout's interference, knocked him down with a smack before Smith-Schuster jumped to his feet and charged at Branch. The two tussled for a few moments as players from both sides exchanged shoves in an unreal scene to close the night. ADVERTISEMENT During his post-game interview, Mahomes declined to address what started the skirmish but made sure to send a message to […]
‘We all Love Baker to Death’: Baker Mayfield Continues MVP-like Output
TAMPA - No Mike Evans. No Chris Godwin. No Jalen McMillan. No Bucky Irving.Then, midway through Sunday's game against the 49ers, clinging to a one-point lead, the Bucs lost rookie phenom Emeka Egbuka to a hamstring injury.The players on the receiving end for Tampa Bay keep changing, but the guy throwing the passes hasn't. Baker Mayfield pulled out another close win Sunday as the Bucs improved to an improbable 5-1 on the season.Mayfield has been a wizard late in games this season, engineering fourth-quarter comebacks for each of the Bucs' first four wins. Sunday was close to a fifth -- the Bucs were clinging to a 20-19 lead late in the third quarter and facing a third-and-14 play when he eluded a sack, scrambled and reached out with the ball for 15 yards and a first down."It's awesome. We all […]
Dillon Gabriel Is in a No-Win Situation Trying to Win The Browns’ Starting QB Job
PITTSBURGH - Rookie quarterbacks are rarely thrown into great situations, because great teams don’t usually need them. Most are thrust into the middle of messes.And there aren’t many situations as messy as the one Dillon Gabriel is in right now.Two starts into his NFL career, the Cleveland Browns’ 2025 third-round pick — and their potential quarterback of the future — might literally be in the league’s biggest no-win situation. It’s not just that he’s on a 1-5 team coming off a 3-14 season. And it’s not just that looming over his shoulder is one of the most high-profile backup quarterbacks in the league.It’s that his passes are being dropped at an alarming rate by even his best receivers. It’s that the 5-foot-11 lefty is playing behind an offensive line that nearly got him killed in a 23-9 loss to the […]
Related
Makhmudov now targets AJ: ‘Can he handle the power?’
Arslanbek Makhmudov expects his victory over Dave Allen to put him in contention for a 2026 fight with Anthony Joshua.Joshua's team is planning for AJ to box once, possibly twice, before a fight with one of the big names in the division next summer. Makhmudov put in a dominant, unanimous-decision win over Allen in Sheffield at the weekend.With no opponent yet set for Joshua's comeback fight, Makhmudov believes he could be in the reckoning. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Watch highlights of Arslanbek Makhmudov's dominant TKO victory against Raphael Akpejiori Camille Estephan, Makhmudov's promoter, wants Joshua for him next. "Definitely I think it would be a great fight," Estephan told Sky Sports. "Arslanbek has shown against Allen that he has more than just nuclear power. The question remains though, can AJ handle Makhmudov's power? I […]
Yarmouth and Hereford host Monday racing – live on Sky
Flat racing from Yarmouth accompanies the return of Jumps to Hereford – live on Sky Sports Racing on Monday afternoon.2.30 Yarmouth - Calafiori bids to defy 6lb riseCalafiori will bid to defy a 6lb penalty in the bettingsites.co.uk Betting Sites Nursery Handicap at Yarmouth. George Boughey's charge had been on a luckless run of form earlier in the campaign, finishing second on no fewer than five occasions. That sequence came to an end when he broke his maiden at Brighton on August 31, making rapid headway late on to deny Mythical Night. He has since won at Pontefract over six furlongs and holds strong claims to score again in the double green colours of Munir and Souede, despite an extra 6lbs on his back.The Amo Racing silks are to be carried by Stardinia here - a two-year-old filly still awaiting […]
NFL Week 6 Team of the Week: Rico Dowdle Stays Hot; Smith-Njigba Continues Rise
Each week, we’ll offer up the very best of the NFL for a given week, kind of like the fantasy football team you wished you had.We’ll pick one quarterback, two running backs, two receivers and a tight end – OK, this is sounding a lot like a super-hindsight fantasy football team – as a way to look back on the weekend that was.An unlikely running back returns to the team, while wide receiver features two players who are ascending to stardom:QB: Drake Maye, PatriotsThe second-year quarterback already has four multi-touchdown games in six weeks this season – Sunday was 18-for-26 for 261 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, and he led the Patriots in rushing with 28 yards. New England is off to a 4-2 start after finishing 4-13 last season. Few quarterbacks in the league have less to work […]
Patrick Mahomes, Brian Branch Involved in Lions vs. Chiefs Post-Game Scuffle
An intense primetime battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions didn't end after the final whistle Sunday night as the bad blood spilled over post-game.A heated scuffle broke out in the final seconds of a 30-17 Chiefs win after an altercation between Patrick Mahomes and Lions safety Brian Branch. Mahomes looked to shake hands with Branch, but the safety ignored his attempt, prompting his wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to come to his defense.Branch, taking exception to the wideout's interference, knocked him down with a smack before Smith-Schuster jumped to his feet and charged at Branch. The two tussled for a few moments as players from both sides exchanged shoves in an unreal scene to close the night. ADVERTISEMENT During his post-game interview, Mahomes declined to address what started the skirmish but made sure to send a message to […]
‘We all Love Baker to Death’: Baker Mayfield Continues MVP-like Output
TAMPA - No Mike Evans. No Chris Godwin. No Jalen McMillan. No Bucky Irving.Then, midway through Sunday's game against the 49ers, clinging to a one-point lead, the Bucs lost rookie phenom Emeka Egbuka to a hamstring injury.The players on the receiving end for Tampa Bay keep changing, but the guy throwing the passes hasn't. Baker Mayfield pulled out another close win Sunday as the Bucs improved to an improbable 5-1 on the season.Mayfield has been a wizard late in games this season, engineering fourth-quarter comebacks for each of the Bucs' first four wins. Sunday was close to a fifth -- the Bucs were clinging to a 20-19 lead late in the third quarter and facing a third-and-14 play when he eluded a sack, scrambled and reached out with the ball for 15 yards and a first down."It's awesome. We all […]
Dillon Gabriel Is in a No-Win Situation Trying to Win The Browns’ Starting QB Job
PITTSBURGH - Rookie quarterbacks are rarely thrown into great situations, because great teams don’t usually need them. Most are thrust into the middle of messes.And there aren’t many situations as messy as the one Dillon Gabriel is in right now.Two starts into his NFL career, the Cleveland Browns’ 2025 third-round pick — and their potential quarterback of the future — might literally be in the league’s biggest no-win situation. It’s not just that he’s on a 1-5 team coming off a 3-14 season. And it’s not just that looming over his shoulder is one of the most high-profile backup quarterbacks in the league.It’s that his passes are being dropped at an alarming rate by even his best receivers. It’s that the 5-foot-11 lefty is playing behind an offensive line that nearly got him killed in a 23-9 loss to the […]
Be the first to leave a comment