By George Wellbelove
England head coach John Mitchell was quick to praise captain Alex Matthews in his side’s 21-61 win over the USA in their WXV1 opener. The Red Roses scored nine tries in a match that highlighted England’s attacking capabilities, as well as their defensive grit.
Despite a few nervy moments, the world’s number one side were able to race away into a big lead after the USA tried to claw the scoreboard back in their favour. John Mitchell labelled England’s performance as ‘overall, really good’ with a standout performance from player of the match Matthews.
Mitchell said: ‘Alex is an outstanding person and an outstanding Red Rose. She demonstrates
consistency and hard work. She should be really proud and honoured.’ Another bright showing came in the form of fly half Zoe Harrison. The 26 year old was making only her second start for England since an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Harrison was able to secure all but one of her conversions off the tee, supplemented by a promising defence display. “I thought Zoe played really well. She looked really decisive today and looked really on it and made some good decisions in finding kick space.”
“She did some superb work chop-tackling. She is starting to progress in terms of how we are
wanting to play the game. However, despite England’s triumphs, Mitchell still insisted that there were plenty of improvements to be made.
“I think we let ourselves down with some of our basics early in the game and during the middle, but we finished with a lot of satisfaction in the way we played towards the end.
“At half-time the message was to build pressure and don’t let it off through poor basics, just take the handbrake off and attack it.”
Mitchell’s reaction to the match is well-founded. The USA were allowed to come back into the
game on a few occasions in the first half. However, they did not possess the accuracy to deliver the final blow in terms of scoring, which was a let off for England. The Red Roses will face strong opposition in the rest of their WXV, with games against New Zealand and Canada on the horizon.
Mitchell will be hoping for a more consistent outing from his side but England were able to prove their credentials, once again, as the world’s number one side.