England scored eight tries through Amy Cokayne, Abby Dow, Ellie Kildunne, Jess Breach, Sadia Kabeya, and Marlie Packer; Cokayne saw red for two dangerous tackles during the encounter; England are aiming to pick up a sixth Women’s Six Nations championship in succession
Last Updated: 13/04/24 4:24pm
Amy Cokayne scored on her return from injury for the Red Roses but then received two yellow cards
Two yellow cards saw Amy Cokayne sent off the field on her return from injury as England dominated Scotland in a 46-0 Women’s Six Nations win in front of a sold-out crowd at The Hive Stadium in Edinburgh.
England got off to a strong start, Cokayne and Abby Dow going over early on, plus a converted Ellie Kildunne effort which gave the Red Roses a 17-0 lead at the break.
The score was not a completely accurate reflection of how in control England were in the first 40, John Mitchell’s side coping incredibly well a player down as Cokayne was sent to the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle on 29.
The second 40 saw the Red Roses only improve, even with Cokayne off the field permanently after 55 minutes for a second dangerous tackle, with tries from Sadia Kabeya and Marlie Packer, plus a second for Kildunne and a double for Jess Breach securing the victory for the visitors.
That means England have three wins from three and sit top of the Six Nations table with 15 points as they prepare to face Ireland next week at Twickenham.
Red Roses show slinky attack once again despite Cokayne ill discipline
It was wet and very windy in Scotland, making it hard work for England to put that fast attack they have been working on into action, but Cokayne took advantage from close range on her return from injury, powering over after seven minutes to give her side a 5-0 lead.
The Red Roses then sprung into life as nearly every player touched the ball in the build-up to Dow’s diving effort in the corner after 12 minutes, a Breach score in the other corner being chalked off for a knock-on in the build-up.
Abby Dow went over for England’s second try as they got off to a brilliant start
As handling errors became the name of the game, England’s forwards battled hard to keep the momentum and Maud Muir barrelled over for what she thought was England’s third try of the encounter, but it was chalked off for a dangerous tackle in the build-up, Cokayne getting herself sent to the sin-bin for lifting a player above the horizontal.
The Red Roses stayed calm and a Holly Aitchison grubber through was brilliantly hacked on by Meg Jones for Kildunne to pounce on to roll over under the sticks, Aitchison adding the extras to give them a 17-0 lead at the break.
As the sun came out for the second 40, Kabeya was straight over as England’s forward overpowered the Scottish pack, Aitchison adding the extras as the Red Roses wrapped up the bonus point with over half an hour still to play.
England: Tries: Amy Cokayne (7), Abby Dow (12), Ellie Kildunne (34, 65), Sadia Kabeya (44), Jess Breach (51, 59), Marlie Packer (73); Conversions: Holly Aitchison (35, 45), Zoe Harrison (74)
Breach then showed some beautiful handling skill to go over from an England set-play from the scrum and claim a 29-0 lead but it was not long until England were reduced to 14 players once again, Cokayne being shown a second yellow and consequently a red for a dangerous tackle on Lana Skeldon.
Despite being a player down England continued to play their way, Breach showing some brilliant individual skill to go over for her second try before Kildunne walked in for a double too.
Ellie Kildunne was in fine form once again as she was a constant attacking threat for the Red Roses
On from the bench, skipper Packer then went over from short range to wrap up proceedings and a 46-0 victory in Edinburgh.
What they said: We keep learning what we are capable of
Player-of-the-match Ellie Kildunne…
“I think it was quite a sticky game, the weather definitely didn’t help.
“I think we adapted to the conditions, I think there is a lot to work on.
“But I think as a team to put a good amount of points on another good team, we have to be proud of ourselves.
“I feel like today was a team performance.
“We only got the space on the edge from the players working in the middle.
“We speak about confidence, we speak about taking the handbrake off and each game we are taking it off a bit more and seeing what we are capable of.”
What’s next?
England next have a home fixture against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday April 20, with kick-off at 2.15pm.
For Scotland, they now face a trip to take on Italy on Saturday April 20, with kick-off at 4.45pm.
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