England U20 too strong for Canada again

(Report from RFU) England U20 scored seven tries to seal a 39-12 victory over Canada in the second of a three-match series against their opponents.

Coach Jo Yapp made five changes to her side but England started well and led 22-5 at the break through an Abi Dow hat trick and a try from Sally Stott while Zoe Harrison kicked a conversion. Kasselle Menin scored Canada U20’s only points of the first half but England’s try scoring continued in the second period with Poppy Leitch crossing for their fifth of the game. Dow had her fourth of the game while Sarah Bern completed the try scoring for England with Lagilagi Tuima also kicking a conversion. Jordyn Orlando scored Canada’s only try of the second half with Yapp declaring herself happy with the performance of the side.

"We played well in parts, we did well in our line-out in particular and when we built in phases we played well," said Yapp. "There was some frustrating parts with a few things not going our way but that is something we can build on for Friday. As we expected Canada came out hard and were harder to break down so we had to remain patient.Abi Dow came into the mix and showed some really good individual pace. On the whole this is the second time this group of players has played together so all in all I’m really pleased with the performance."

Yapp added that developing the players for senior rugby was a key aspect for this age group:

"I want them to continue to learn from this performance and keep building," she said. "They showed really good mental resilience from this game to play four days later and now we have to do the same on Friday. We expect them to come out and play to that same level of intensity and to keep improving. It’s important we focus on development and preparing players for senior rugby. It was tough and frustrating at times but that is a test of character and allows us to see which players are going to step up and lead, as well handle that type of pressure."

"The score does not give the girls’ performance justice," Canada head coach Jen Boyd said. "Penalties and turnovers were the difference. England is simply too polished on turnovers to give them as many opportunities as we did last night. They made us pay. Our biggest work-ons for game three is ball in contact, converge in support and depth on attack. Our defense was courageous; unlike game game, England could not get through the middle. I am very proud of the girls’ performance. They have shown tremendous growth in a very short time and will be stronger in game three."

England: 1 Katie Trevarthen (Lichfield & Coventry University); 2 Rebecca Noon (Lichfield & Nottingham Trent University); 3 Hannah West (Wasps & Brunel University); 4 Molly Morrissey (Lichfield & Hartpury University); 5 Anna Wolf (Darlington Mowden Park & Northumbria University); 6 Sally Stott (Edinburgh University); 7 Poppy Leitch (Bristol & University of Exeter); 8 Zoe Aldcroft (Darlington Mowden Park & Northumbria University); 9 Caity Mattinson (Darlington Mowden Park & Northumbria University); 10 Zoe Harrison (Welwyn ); 11Rachael Woosey (Darlington Mowden Park ); 12 Emily Wood (C) (Lichfield & University of Gloucestershire); 13 Sydney Gregson (Bristol & University of Bath); 14 Abigail Dow (Wasps ); 15 Kelly Smith (Worcester & Hartpury University); 16 Amy Cokayne (Lichfield & Loughborough University); 17 Ellie Mulhearn (Cleve & Filton (AASE)); 18 Sarah Bern (Bristol & University of Gloucestershire); 19 Hollie Cunningham (Cleve ); 20 Lucy Nye (Litchfield & Loughborough University); 21 Chantelle Miell (Bristol & University of Bath); 22 Charlotte Holland (Bristol & University of Bath); 23 Lagilagi Tuima (Devonport Services )

Canada: 1. Veronica Harrigan, London, ON ; 2. Emily Tuttosi, captain (Brandon Barbarians RFC) Souris, MB; 3. Alex Ellis (Barrhaven Scottish), Ottawa, ON ; 4. Kasselle Menin (Calgary Hornets), Vulcan, AB ; 5. McKinley Hunt (Aurora Barbarians), King City, ON ; 6. Kylie Shaughnessy (Guelph Red Coats), Peterborough, ON ; 7. Emily Babcock (Ottawa Irish), Scarborough, ON ; 8. Gabrielle Senft (Castaway Wanderers), Regina, SK ; 9. Justine Pelletier (Club de Rugby de Quebec), Quebec City, QC ; 10. Julia Schell (Oshawa Vikings), Uxbridge, ON ; 11. Sasha Guedes (Ottawa Irish), Gatineau, QC ; 12. Zana Everett, Brockville, ON ; 13. Jordyn Orlando (Burlington Centaurs) Burlington, ON ; 14. Shawna Brayton (Sainte-Ann de Bellevue), Chateauguay, QC; 15. Dana Silerova (Sainte-Ann de Bellevue), Montreal, QC ; 16.Tobi Owotomo (Toronto Saracens), Mississauga, ON; 17. Mackenzie Carson (Abbotsford RFC), Abbotsford, BC ; 18. Jennifer Appleby (Castaway Wanderers), Regina, SK ; 19. Meggie Turgeon (Club de Rugby de Quebec) Sherbrooke, QC ; 20. Taylor Durham (Guelph Red Coats), Burford, ON; 21. Erin Geddes (Lindsay Gryphons), Lindsay, ON ; 22. Megan Pakulis (Toronto Saracens), Toronto, ON ; 23. Taejah Thompson, (CCIAC), Calgary, AB