Torrential rain and blustery conditions meant there was no champagne rugby on display in Bristol but the occasion more than lived up to the hype with a sold-out Ashton Gate cheering England to a comfortable win against Scotland to book their spot in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, where they will face France.
Some had worried the conditions may have seen some supporters not turn out but the doubters were proved wrong with the stands full to the brim to witness the Red Roses break their own world record of consecutive wins as the victory took them to 31 in a row.
The quarter-final also proved to be the hottest ticket in town with the USA player Ilona Maher returning after watching Canada’s win against Australia on Saturday and the former England goalkeeper Mary Earps was also in the stands.
The players had to play the conditions in front of them which led to lulls in the game with handling errors littered throughout but there were good performances on display. The prop Kelsey Clifford started in place of Hannah Botterman and she backed up her two tries from last weekend with another double, while it was also a special day for Abby Dow as she scored her 50th try for England, becoming just the sixth Red Rose to do so.
Scotland’s time in this competition came to a close with the defeat but it also underlined the end of an era for the team. It was the last game for the head coach, Bryan Easson, and the No 8 Jade Konkel announced her international retirement before the quarter-final.
It has been a record-breaking tournament for the team as they reached the quarter-final stage for the first time since 2002 but what the players have been able to achieve on the pitch cannot be allowed to be used to overshadow the contract controversy that has happened off it.
It has been reported that half of the World Cup squad do not have contracts post-tournament and so there is an air of uncertainty regarding what comes next for Scotland, with the risk of the team losing players, according to the captain, Rachel Malcolm. “That is something we absolutely don’t want,” Malcolm, who confirmed she will not retire, said. “We want to keep players in the game. We have built something special here and we want to keep as many within the game as we can.
“Those losses are going to be pretty big and they are going to have an impact. We need to make sure we minimise that going forward because we need the core [group] to build and grow so that is what I will be pushing for but there is that risk there.”
A penalty kick from the Scotland fly-half Helen Nelson got the scoreboard ticking in a positive first 10 minutes for the visitors. There were Ben Earl-like celebrations with Konkel coming up with a breakdown turnover with Scotland rumbling all of England’s early attacking options.
The Red Roses also fumbled a few of their own with two crossfield kicks from Holly Aitchison going out of play but it was not long until England got themselves on the board with a try from Clifford.
Scotland’s lineout was an issue all afternoon and it led to England’s second try with the hosts picking up a spilled ball and Morwenna Talling finishing the move. When England were on the attack, drums were heard and the culprits were Ellie Kildunne and Marlie Packer who were in the stands supporting their teammates.
The game was stop-start but pieces of skill such as a 50:22 kick by Mo Hunt jolted energy back into the knockout match. Despite the weather conditions, England’s next try came from one of the back three with Dow over for her milestone.
Following the break the Red Roses deployed their tried and tested asset of the rolling maul with Amy Cokayne scoring off the back of it.
After Konkel was substituted she was shown crying on the bench as she knew her international career was over and the Scotland legend Donna Kennedy, who was in the crowd, went over to comfort her. Konkel, who works as a firefighter outside rugby, won 74 caps for her country and helped them to qualify for two World Cup tournaments.
Meg Jones thought she had a try next but an outstanding recovery run and leap from Emma Orr saw her scupper the chance. England eventually got the score after resolute Scottish defence with a skilful pass from the replacement Zoe Harrison to Aitchison but it was Scotland who had the final score with a well‑worked try finished off by Rhona Lloyd.
Le Crunch comes next for the Red Roses as another rivalry is reignited in both teams’ bid for a place in the final.
