England 92-3 Samoa: Brilliant Jess Breach triggers Red Roses avalanche

England …………………………. 92pts

Tries: Jones 3, 16; Breach 8, 53, 74; Bern 14, Feaunati 24, Davies 29, L Packer 33, Clifford 50, Carson 60, Rowland 64, M Packer 70, MacDonald 80

Conversions: Rowland 4, 9, 15, 25, 30, 34, 50, 54, 61, 65, 80

Samoa ………………………………3pts

Penalty: Vatau 44

Jess Breach became the fifth Red Roses player to score 50 tries as England secured their record World Cup win over a helpless Samoa despite making 13 changes to the side that beat USA last week.

Saracens flyer Breach dotted down for a hat-trick of tries to join Sue Day, Nicky Crawford, Emily Scarratt and Marlie Packer in the half-century club, and considering her blistering form, which has now taken her to 52 international scores, it shouldn’t be long before she eclipses Day’s 61-try record.

John Mitchell

England head coach John Mitchell said: “I’m delighted with the performance, particularly our opening.

“Isn’t it just a delight to see Jessie playing with confidence and looking to take people on one-on-one? She’s always had that ability to break the game open when you need her to.

“What I really admire about her is that confidence. She’s absolutely outstanding.”

Stand-in fly-half Helena Rowland’s 27-point tally was the most scored by a Red Roses player at a World Cup as the Loughborough Lightning back showcased her versatility with a barnstorming display to cause boss Mitchell yet another selection headache.

He added: “I thought Helena was outstanding. She’s got a great skill set, and she drove the game really well. A lot of the other girls really fed off her direction.

“She put us in the right areas of the field when we needed to be there, and she was very effective in attack to keep us moving forward.

“She gave us a lot of composure and control at pace – Helena’s definitely a great example of a triple threat.”

Match Action

This contest was quickly made a no-contest when England scored seven tries in the opening 33 minutes, and the bumper crowd at Franklin’s Gardens, spurred on by Samoa’s impressive travelling support, were all in unison during the second half, hoping for a consolation effort.

Nevertheless, the Red Roses booked their place in the knockout stages with a 14-try demolition, which eclipsed their 82-0 previous record win against Kazakhstan in 2010, and their highest number of points scored in a World Cup game (84) versus Fiji in 2022.

Samoa, 200/1 with the bookies pre-match, are short on funding but not short on spirit. They weren’t afraid to throw their weight around early on, but aside from some big shots on the England attack, they couldn’t do anything to stop the inevitable avalanche.

Great Britain Sevens convert Jade Shekells, on just her fourth cap, cut a precise line and powered her way through, which set the platform for Meg Jones, one of only two survivors from last week’s big win over the USA, to weave her way through the Samoan defence to score.

A horrendous American football-style lineout throw by Samoan hooker Faith Nonutunu inside her own half was a million miles from being straight, and moments later, quick thinking off a scrum saw Lucy Packer cut down the blindside before swift hands put Breach round her opposite wing for her 50th try.

Inside centre Shekells began to play a lot at first receiver, a neat chip through set the platform for scrum dominance after a knock on and following sustained pick and gos, Sarah Bern dotted down for England’s third try.

Jones once again took the ball flat to the line and twisted her way past multiple Samoan defenders to dot down for her second and the bonus point after 16 minutes.

Maddie Feaunati, whose Samoan father won 14 caps for his country and played Jonah Lomu in the Hollywood film Invictus, profited from England’s scrum supremacy as the No.8 dribbled the ball at the base before touching down.

A set-piece special saw England rumble over through Lark Atkin-Davies before Lucy Packer sniped over as the Red Roses appeared unstoppable, but then came a Samoan revival.

Valiant defence for the seven minutes that remained in the first half was then followed by impressive fly-half Harmony Vatau, who lasered a penalty off a rare English scrum infringement to get her side on the board and delight the vocal Samoan support.

But England regrouped, and as the forwards once again rumbled close to the line, Kelsey Clifford showcased her power to cross the whitewash.

Second Half

Clifford followed her try with an outstanding offload out of a tackle to superbly send Breach away for her second score of the day.

England then overturned a lineout and fed substitute Mackenzie Carson in scoring.

The brilliant Breach made another surging break and looked set to mark her landmark day with another hat-trick, but was hauled down just short of the line. Off the recycled phase, quick hands to the opposite flank saw Rowland add to her points haul off the tee with a close-range try.

Former full-time captain and yesterday’s skipper in the absence of the injured Zoe Aldcroft, Marlie Packer continued England’s scoring.

It looked like Mitchell’s side were up against it to seal their best ever World Cup win but Breach’s blistering pace and the always busy Claudia Moloney-MacDonald on the other wing combined to score the final two tries.

An emotional Samoa head coach, Ramsey Tomokino, said: “To see the jubilation on the girls’ and fans’ faces after that penalty was amazing.

“We didn’t want to be nilled like we did against Australia, so we were pleased to get three points on the board. The match was a valuable learning experience.

“It was such a massive occasion, but against whichever team we come up against, we always give our all.

“We’ve never had an opportunity like this and to play in front of this respectful crowd brings a tear to my eye.”

By Ben Jaycock

READ MORE: Ruthless Red Roses storm to record win against Samoa to book spot in World Cup quarter-finals