BY STELLA MILLS
England set the pace early with Natasha ‘Mo’ Hunt firing over the line, quickly followed by a classic Jess Breach intercept, and a 60-metre sprint which was made to look like a leisurely stroll.
At times, the USA showed slight glimmers of hope, but it seemed each time the squad attempted to muster something up, they were met by a large red brick wall in the shape of the Red Roses, who have clearly been making the most of their preseason.
Things did look briefly bleak for the Red Roses, as the TMO declared Cath O’Donnell’s try a no go, however within minutes, Amy Cockayne had put silenced doubters by sliding over the whitewash.
A pinnacle moment in the match came when England’s Claudia MacDonald scored, a player who overcame a near career ending neck injury to gain herself a spot back on the pitch. Moments after, the newly signed Chiefs player was over the line again, a testament to how good she is.
Interestingly, USA came into this match off the back of a 21-17 win over Scotland, however the last encounter against England saw 89-0 on the score sheet.
On the 60th minute, Kelter made an outstanding run, spurred on by cries of “USA, USA,USA” from the crowd, but was abruptly taken down by Zoe Harrison.
USA did manage to find something for the scoresheet on the 67th minute, as Kelter set up Hope Rogers for the try.
England seemed to get complacent in the last ten minutes of the match, as Shaunagh Brown was shown the yellow card for a high hit, with teammate Helena Rowland also shown yellow soon after with a penalty try awarded to USA.
Kildunne soon brings mojo back into Sandy Park, scoring right under the posts in front of a roaring stand, certainly giving them something to talk about!
Despite the lack of discipline towards the end, England walk away with a strong win over USA.
Although technically this match was an England home fixture, for multiple team members in the USA squad this has been more like a homecoming as various squad members played the previous season for Exeter Chiefs in the Allianz Premier 15s.
Looking ahead, the Red Roses will go onto face their Welsh counterparts at Ashton Gate on Wednesday 14th of September. This fixture will mark the first time that the Red Roses have played at Ashton Gate.