Well, that was all a little too easy for England, but they’ll be pleased that some of their less experienced players had a successful run-out and acquitted themselves well. Their kicking from the tee could have been better, as could some of their lineout work, but theirs was a strong, purposeful and mostly fluent performance. Spain couldn’t really live with them, though they stuck to their task. Elsewhere, New Zealand are 20-0 up against Wales.
And that’s all from me. Stay on the site for Gerard Meagher’s match report and more. Thanks for following. Bye.
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Full-time: England 56-5 Spain
The lineout gives Spain the opportunity to recycle the ball from right to left but they make little ground and England turn it over. It’s kicked into the crowd to signal the end.
80+2 mins: England 56-5 Spain. England win a penalty going into the last minute; its blootered into the crowd. Can they use their lineout to add one more score? The pack drives for the line, but Spain hold out this time thanks to tenacious tackling by Gasso. England opt to prolong the punishment and come again, but they concede a penalty. And Spain, gamely, kick for a lineout rather than opt to scoot off as they could, what with time being up.
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79 mins: England 56-5 Spain. It’ll be interesting to see how Spain get on against Italy and the USA, as their handling game has shown some flickers here, particularly in the closing stages of the first half, but they’ve been outfought and outplayed here.
77 mins: England 56-5 Spain. Mclean has been named player of the match, a difficult decision to argue with, given her busy, tone-setting first-half display.
Try! England 56-5 Spain
76 mins: England 56-5 Spain. Cokayne is held up four metres short on the left after another flowing move, but not for long, as Jones lunges for the line, again falling just short. Back out right it goes, and Lydia Thompson is free on the overlap to score with style in the corner. Free and easy. Scarratt can’t quite hit the target with the conversion once more.
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73 mins: England 51-5 Spain. Some possession for Spain, but it’s deep in their own territory and the champions are just bearing down on them from all angles, and they induce another error that lands them a scrum …
71 mins: England 51-5 Spain. More replacement news: Cleal is on for Scott, and Macias has been introduced for Spain.
Try! England 51-5 Spain
69 mins: England 51-5 Spain. Forceful forward play puts Amy Cokayne over the line following formidable driving mauling. 50 up! Scarratt blunders the conversion again. That’s one area in which England can improve.
67 mins: England 46-5 Spain. England attack on the right, as the already-lively Cokayne feeds Matthews and then Thompson, who fumbles it over the line. Spain are pushed back from their lineout and lose possession. England attack again with the replacement Mason finding Reid and then Jones, who falls up just short and Thompson then drops it with the line in sight. A bit sloppy, but good defensive work from Erbina.
64 mins: England 46-5 Spain. Spain get a chance to recycle the ball a bit through half a dozen passes but Echebarria’s little chip forward is intercepted. Spain come again but it all gets a bit scrappy and England regain possession. The half-century is only a matter of time.
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Try: England 46-5 Spain
61 mins: England 46-5 Spain. From the lineout, Spain make a hash of defending England’s advance after stealing possession from a poor lineout, but the sub Cokayne charges down the kick to enable Matthews to touch down, under pressure from Bravo who thinks she might have got the last touch. However, the TMO is called into service and awards the try, and this time Scarratt does nail the conversion.
More replacements: Cokayne for Kerr, Clarke for Cornborough, Lucas for Bern.
59 mins: England 39-5 Spain. Scarratt has swiftly raised England’s already satisfying performance levels. Another surging run from her on the left puts England in sight of the line. It’s worked out right and then back again before Scarratt wins a penalty 10 yards out after Casado transgresses.
57 mins: England 39-5 Spain. Matthews on, Hunter off; Garcia for Vinueza; for Redondo. Good work from the Spanish replacement Rico wins them a penalty inside England’s half. Spain attack through Medin and Bravo before they’re forced out wide on the right and England win a lineout deep in their own half. Ahis comes on for Fernandez.
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56 mins: England 39-5 Spain. Some replacements I need to talk you through amid this relentless tide of scoring: Matthews on, Hunter off; Mason on, Mclean off; Garcia on for Vinueza for Spain.
Try! England 39-5 Spain
55 mins: It’s four tries for Wilson, a move begun neatly by Jones ends with Wilson again being played in on the left and she dashes in to score. Easy easy easy. Scarratt has a go at the conversion this time but she slashes it wide too.
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Try! England 34-5 Spain
51 mins: England 34-5 Spain. Millar-Mills gets a well deserved try from the resulting scrum, which Spain defend defiantly but England’s strength is too much and when Millar-Mills finds an opening she lunges successfully for the line. Mclean’s conversion pings the bar – her radar’s gone awry from the tee as this match has progressed.
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49 mins: England 24-5 Spain. A good strong lineout on the right sets up a lovely flowing move from right to left, which is halted when Thompson is effectively tackled but England come again and work it back rightwards before Vinueza is punished for a rather too robust and blatant push …
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46 mins: England 24-5 Spain. This half has begun as the first did, with England totally on top in possession and territory. Noel-Smith drives forward in a central position but Spain do a better job of keeping their opponents at bay this time. It’s Waterman who’s been replaced by Scarratt, by the way.
Try: England 29-5 Spain
43 mins: England 24-5 Spain. Emily Scarratt has come on, not sure for whom yet. She begins the half with a long drive forward, Millar-Mills puts the line in sight in a couple of driving mauls before the ball is worked out from right to left, and inevitably it’s Scarratt’s whose there on the end of it all to dive over in the corner. Mclean misses her kick again
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Peep!
Spain get us going again in the second half.
In other World Cup news, New Zealand have scored an early try in their opener against Wales. 5-0 to them.
Well, England are comfortably in control of this one in a pretty fluent match, though Spain have held themselves together well after a nightmare start, and have occasionally had the chance to show what they can do with ball in hand. They’re still firmly second best though. Back in a bit.
Half-time: England 24-5 Spain
40 mins: England win a penalty when Medin is punished for an offside. Mclean kicks for the corner, but Kerr’s lineout throw is wayward. England regain possession through Thompson and Waterman but Mclean’s kick to touch on the left signals the end of the half.
Try: England 24-5 Spain
37 mins: England 24-5 Spain. Spain are on the board with a fine try. Thompson darts infield 20 yards from the right to set up another promising position before a rare fumble by Wilson enables García to surge deep into England’s half. England are penalised and from the scrum Spain work it out smartly to the right, Fernandez, Garcia and Rial combining to put Gasso through to score in the corner. But Garcia misses the conversion.
Try: England 24-0 Spain
32 mins: It’s a hat-trick for Wilson. A succession of driving mauls set up a sweet passing move out on the left, Burford feeding Waterman, who plays Wilson in to dive over for her third. Her team have a bonus point already. Though Mclean’s conversion is wide again.
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30 mins: England 19-0 Spain. Mclean, who’s been well on her game today, grabs an up-and-under with confidence and surges forward 20 yards or so to set up another incursion into their opponents’ half. England then work some nice combinations on the left, after winning possession following a lineout on the right. It’s worked out to Bern back on the right before she’s bundled into touch by more robust Spanish defending.
28 mins: England 19-0 Spain. Another blow for Spain: Pla will not be returning to the field, having failed her risk assessment
26 mins: England 19-0 Spain. Fernandez finds a bit of space for a 10-metre dash forward on halfway, showing good sleight of hand to create the break but after the ball is recycled through four more passes, England halt them and momentum, and a scrum, regains momentum for the champions.
23 mins: England 19-0 Spain. Spain’s promising little spell of territory and possession continues, with Garcia and Echebarria, prominent before Castelo’s pass is intercepted, allowing England to regroup. Spain have at least toughened up in the past 10 minutes or so after a flimsy start. Ribera is back on the field, with Castelo back off.
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22 mins: England 19-0 Spain. Spain get some rare experience of England’s 22 as a fumble hands them a lineout, but the throw is overcooked and intercepted by Kerr. Spain come again but Jones pushes the Spanish centre back back with brutal, contemptuous ease. Still, this is Spain’s best possession so far. Echebarria is held up 10 yards out as possession passes through a couple of paces before Patricia García wastes it all with a tame kick forward straight into English arms.
Try: England 19-0 Spain
20 mins: England 19-0 Spain. Scott drives at the Spanish back line, but is held up just short, it’s worked out to Hunter, and then after further resistance Mclean chips smartly and diagonally to the opposite corner, finding some space and Wilson gathers easily and touches down. Smart rugby, though Mclean sends her conversion too far to the right.
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17 mins: England 14-0 Spain. Spain concede a penalty scrum as Ribera and Pla are ordered off for head injury assessments. Castelo and Rial replace them.
15 mins: England 14-0 Spain. Spain defend the ensuing scrum well but the clearance carries no real distance and England come again, keeping possession through three phases but being kept at bay better now.
14 mins: England 14-0 Spain. England’s dominance continues Millar-Mills drives at the Spanish back line after being fed by Mclean but is held up just short of the posts.
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12 mins: England 14-0 Spain. After another dominant England scrum Thompson darts forward on the left more than 20 yards but can’t find the pass to Jones outside her five metres short of the line. Spain repel, for now.
10 mins: England 14-0 Spain. Spain win a lineout well and keep possession after an effective driving maul but the ensuing kick forward is easily gathered and England regather, the speedy Mclean driving forward 30 yards to set up another attack and lineout on the right.
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8 mins: England 14-0 Spain. Spain were reckoned to be at their most dangerous at the start of games, which makes this a pretty calamitous start from them. They get their first phase of possession midway through England’s half and sloppy passing relinquishes it.
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Try: England 14-0 Spain
But they’re not denied for long. England’s power shows in the scrum, and some swift offloads work the ball out to Wilson on the left, who makes no mistake this time. Mclean’s conversion from out wide is beautifully judged too, and just creeps over.
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5 mins: England 7-0 Spain. Is this another try? Wilson breaks through on the left and dives for the line but looks to have fallen short after a tackle by Erbina. The TMO is called into action, but it’s no try as Wilson is deemed to have lost control of the ball. Scrum to Spain right in front of their own line.
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4 mins: England 7-0 Spain: England look dominant in possession already. Mclean feeds Aldcroft, who this time is well stopped for a reassuring first meaningful tackle by Spain
Try: England 7-0 Spain
1 mins: England 5-0 Spain. England win the first scrum out on the left, Wilson drives forward and unloads to Megan Jones who dashes right of the posts, past two rash tackle attempts to score. That’s what you call a start. Mclean adds the extras comfortably.
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Peep!
And England get us underway.
It’s a lovely sunny day in Dublin as the teams come out (while I stare out at the soaked grey expanses of King’s Cross), with a reasonable-ish crowd in. This, remember, is the first of three matches at the UCD ground today. USA v Italy and Ireland v Australia follow.
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A brief chinwag on ITV4 with the England captain Sarah Hunter, who’s taking nothing for granted. “The women’s game has competitively got stronger and stronger … all that stuff about us being No1, being world champions, doesn’t mean anything when we get to Ireland. We’re not defending anything, we’re not looking ahead to the knockout rounds, we have to focus on each game. We have to be better than we were in 2014.”
On the vexed issue of XVs contracts, she dead-bats: It [having a professional contract] was something that I never thought would happen in my career and it’s been an absolute dream to live the life of a professional athlete but everyone knew the contracts would run out this year and we’d be going back to work in September. All we’d ask is for everyone to get behind us on the pitch.”
Which prefaces the inevitable studio chat about the relationship between sevens and XVs rugby, and the funding of both. At the risk of doing what I counselled against earlier, and invoking a comparison with another sport, is there a slight sense that the women’s game’s prioritising sevens has echoes in the way women’s cricket is much more built around the limited-overs game? Whatever, there’s certainly cash in the RFU’s coffers.
Format recap: it’s a fairly straightforward one but always handy to get abreast of these things at the start.
There are three groups of four. Match points will be awarded for each pool match on the following basis: Win – 4 points; Draw – 2 points; Scoring four tries or more – 1 bonus point; Loss by seven or less points – 1 bonus point; Loss by more than seven points – 0 points
The three pool winners and the best runners-up form the semi-finalists, while the remainder face play-offs to determine their overall ranking. Everyone gets at least one further game in other words. Proper tournament.
A humble request, granted:
@tomdaviesE17 Can I plug my brother's - @topoftheprops - interview with @KatMerchant14 on upcoming World Cup: https://t.co/baogAYAb6C
— TonyCross (@Lokster71) August 9, 2017
The teams
England: Waterman; Thompson, Jones, Burford, Wilson; Mclean, Riley; Cornborough, Kerr, Bern, Scott, Aldcroft, Millar-Mills, Noel-Smith, Hunter (capt).
Replacements: Cokayne, Clark, Lucas, Cleall, Matthews, Mason, Reed, Scarratt
Spain: Pla; Casado, Erbina; Bravo, Echebarria, Patricia García, Fernández de Corres; Jaurena, González (capt), Vinueza, Berta García, Ribera, Gasso, Medlin, Redondo
Replacements: Rico, Macias, Rocio García, Castelo, Del Pan, Ahis, Rial, Meliz
Nine of England’s XV are making their first appearance in a World Cup match
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Pre-match reading
Gerard Meagher on the contract issue:
And his tournament scene-setter:
Preamble
Afternoon everyone. It is tempting, in this Great Summer of Women’s Sport, to make reductive comparisons between the respective England teams competing in tournaments, just as it has been to make tiresome simplistic comparisons between women’s teams and their male equivalents (expertly dealt with here), but it’s probably inevitable that the performance of England in this World Cup will be held up against or alongside the successes of the women’s cricket and, to a lesser extent, football sides. Which is a little unfair – all teams deserve to be judged within their own contexts.
And that context is pretty favourable. England start their Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign as favourites to retain the title won in 2014, buoyed by Six Nations success and encouraging away wins in New Zealand and Canada. Sensibly, Simon Middleton has opted to rotate early on, omitting Emily Scarratt, Rochelle Clark, Natasha Hunt and Marlie Packer from today’s starting line-up. It means useful tournament game time for, among others, the second row Zoe Aldcroft, the outside-centre Megan Jones, the scrum-half Leanne Riley and the flankers Harriet Millar-Mills and Izzy Noel-Smith.
For all the uncertainty off the pitch with the impending ending of the squad’s professional contracts, on it the champions still look formidable. And they remain, in any case, the only fully professional squad in the tournament.
So Spain should be taken care of today. But they are not to be taken lightly – they muscled out Scotland to qualify and do have some tournament pedigree, having qualified on five previous occasions and reached the last eight in 2002, when they were beaten 13-5 by England. This came during a six-year period during which Spain competed in the Five and then Six Nations, which came to an end in 2007 when Italy replaced them. Their young scrum-half Anne Fernández de Corres is one to watch, as is the tight-head prop Jeanina Vinueza plays her club rugby at Saracens.
Kick-off 2pm BST. Bring it on.
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