ENGLAND boss Simon Middleton reckons a radical half-time shake-up fired his ruthless Red Roses to a thumping 58-5 TikTok Women’s Six Nation win over Wales.
A bumper crowd of 14,689 flocked to Kingsholm to watch doubles from Lark Davies and Jess Breach cap a rampant display and keep the hosts’ dream of another Grand Slam alive.
ReutersJess Breach scored two tries as England ran riot against Wales in the Women’s Six Nations[/caption]
Ioan Cunningham’s side frustrated England in the first half but tries from Davies, Breach, Abbie Ward, Sarah Bern, Alex Matthews, Shaunagh Brown, Emily Scarratt and captain Sarah Hunter helped them cruise to victory.
And Middleton, 56, said: “I was really pleased with the girls in the second half.
“It was exactly like we thought it would be. It was tough, physical and hugely competitive.
“We still had some good moments in the first half, but second half we just went through one or two things that we thought we needed to do to get it back on track – and we put them into practice really well.
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“Some of the tries we scored were fantastic – it was great to get the crowd out of their seat, which was hugely important today.”
The hosts went into the break 19-0 ahead thanks to tries from the imperious Davies, returning Breach and player of the match Ward.
But the Red Roses grew frustrated in a first period littered with set pieces as both sides conceded several penalties and knock-ons.
Middleton, whose side next take on Ireland in two weeks’ time, added: “Wales were great.
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“We weren’t accurate enough first-half. We were off the pace a little bit but we were off the pace because Wales forced us off the pace.
“They were really competitive, they mixed in with us. They stayed the course, they didn’t fade away.
“I think we were a bit rattled and there’s some good learnings in there for us.”
The TikTok Women’s Six Nations is more accessible than ever before. To find out how you can watch the Women’s Championship visit: womens.sixnationsrugby.com/tv/