England's Red Roses beat USA after back-to-back defeats

England's women's rugby union team, the Red Roses, beat the USA 55-12 in a WXV Global Series match in New Jersey. WXV is an international tournament for women's rugby union national teams. The result brought England back to winning ways after two consecutive defeats in Canada.

Head coach John Mitchell's side had lost two Tests in a row for the first time in a decade before this game. Their unbeaten run of 41 Tests, which lasted four years, had ended in Toronto.

How the match unfolded

The first half was competitive, with England 10 points ahead at the break. The second half was largely one-way traffic. England scored nine tries in total: four by wing Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, and one each by centre Meg Jones, wing Mia Venner, replacement hooker Bryony Field and back-rowers Maddie Feaunati and Sadia Kabeya.

The USA scored two tries, through loosehead prop Hope Rogers and replacement back Kate Zackary. However, they conceded three tries in nine minutes in the second half while prop Mona Tupou was in the sin-bin because of repeated scrum penalties.

Player reaction

England captain Meg Jones said the team wanted to control the game and impose themselves, and that the squad would review the tour. Player of the match Moloney-MacDonald said the week was about proving things to themselves.

USA co-captain Georgie Perris-Redding said the team had been in the game in the first half but lost their way in the second. She stressed that the result did not take away the team's growth.