England's Red Roses run in three first-half tries en route to comprehensive victory over world champions New Zealand; Marlie Packer, Abby Dow, Ellie Kildunne and Natasha Hunt all cross the whitewash as late Black Ferns rally fails to inspire comeback
Saturday 14 September 2024 17:15, UK
England reinforced their position as favourites to win the 2025 World Cup by dismantling their chief rivals New Zealand 24-12 at Allianz Stadium.
Just over a year out from the tournament's final at the newly-rebranded Twickenham, the Red Roses ran in four tries without ever hitting full stride to record a 17th consecutive victory.
Marlie Packer, Abby Dow, Ellie Kildunne and Natasha Hunt touched down in the second of two home Tests before England travel to Canada to defend their WXV1 title, starting with a clash against the USA on September 29.
Kildunne in particular deserved to cross again and Dow was regularly a handful, but there were also shortcomings in a performance that lacked sharpness despite coming after last Saturday's 38-19 triumph over France at Kingsholm.
New Zealand fought back strongly in front of a 41,523 crowd after falling 24-0 behind, shaking off the rustiness of being inactive since thrashing Australia in July to score more points in the second half.
Their sevens stars who struck gold in the Olympic 10 weeks ago were missing but flashes of the skills seen in Paris were evident amid a dominant start that was only let down by their finishing.
When England took the lead in the 17th minute it came against the run of play, Sarah Bern bursting downfield to help set up the driving maul that ended with Packer touching down.
The Black Ferns had shown shown greater energy in attack but Packer's try ignited the hosts, who made amends for butchering a superb chance down the left through poor handling by sending Dow racing over.
The try was made possible by Tatyana Heard's bullet pass to Dow and not for the first time in the game she left opposite number Katelyn Vahaakolo chasing shadows.
Kildunne was the next over the whitewash after finishing England's patient build-up with a step inside, leaving New Zealand in urgent need of a rousing half-time team talk to prevent a heavy defeat.
Instead, they leaked a fourth try to Hunt just two minutes after the interval - even though England were down to 14 players because of Zoe Aldcroft's yellow card.
A defensive lapse enabled the Black Ferns to hustle a try through Vahaakolo in the 52nd minute and in further evidence the intensity was draining from England's game, Vahaakolo added a second heading into the final quarter, but the comeback halted there.
England and New Zealand travel to Canada for the start of the WXV 1. The Red Roses kick-off their campaign against the United States on September 29 at 8.30pm (BST), with the Black Ferns facing Ireland on September 30 at 3am (BST).
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