John Mitchell said that there were some “really good signs” from England’s 69-7 thrashing of the United States in their Women’s Rugby World Cup opener.
The Red Roses opened the tournament with an 11-try victory at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland as Ellie Kildunne starred, scoring twice and setting up two more on a night of liquid rugby on Wearside.
Lark Atkin-Davies also stepped off the bench to notch a brace, while her fellow forwards Sadie Kabeya, Hannah Botterman, Maud Muir, and Amy Cockayne also got on the scoresheet.
England face Samoa in their next match in Group A in Northampton next weekend.
“We challenged the girls to lift the intensity in the second half,” Mitchell told BBC Sport afterwards.
“I think we've got a good balance between the forwards and backs. We lifted [the intensity] really well. We're human. It's a home tournament. I'm just very grateful that we've got started and the girls have experienced an amazing crowd at home. There's so much more growth left in us. That's the good thing about the Red Roses. This group is eager to get better and it's almost pre-season really for us. We've got to get better as well.
“We've been building towards this opportunity for three years. We experienced a lot of good stuff. We've experienced some tough stuff. We've done a lot of work on our culture, and we know that our game works. We're still very much getting better and flowing in movement. There were some really good signs tonight.”
Mitchell acknowledged that the competition will only get more difficult from here, with Australia in the Red Roses’ pool. Ultimately, they want revenge on New Zealand, after the Black Ferns broke their hearts three years ago, beating them in the World Cup final at Eden Park.
“The tournament will get tougher,” Mitchell continued.
“There's some really good sides that are very good up front. The girls will rise to that challenge though as well. There's so much more left in them. We're a little bit untidy defensively. So we got squarer off the line. Kabeya tonight was outstanding.”
Mitchell hinted that rotation would almost certainly come into play for the next game against Samoa.
“The girls know the plans for the first part of the tournament,” he said.
“We've obviously had to manage some unexpected niggles and one week, one group's playing and making one group proud in the stands and then [the others] get their turn next. By the end of the next week, everyone would have experienced some rugby.”
Kildunne, who was awarded player of the match, was already buzzing for the next pool match to begin.
“To play in front of such a crowd and to play the game that we did, it’s something that I’m very proud of,” the full-back said. “I can’t wait for the next one to start.”
Asked why she passed the ball to Jess Breach when on a hat-trick, she replied: “It’s a long tournament. It was on to pass, so I had to give it, and as a back three unit, we hand each other tries now and again. Jess and Abby [Dow] would do the same for me. We’re really tight.
“We’re going to keep on getting better and getting stronger, finding the gaps. It’s been amazing. We’ve set a standard for ourselves, and we expect to get bigger and better, and as the games progress, we will get better.”
