Spain had two targets in mind as they stepped out to face the Red Roses in Leicester: to put points on them and to leave the field with their heads held high.
They achieved both, enough to renew calls for better treatment from the 6 Nations board. The trouble is, England put fifteen tries on them.
The worst news for the hosts was (yet another) red card, this time for Marlie Packer. On the hour the officials took a second look at her entry to a ruck and didn’t like what they saw. The decision caused people some surprise; it wasn’t that clear-cut a verdict. If the disciplinary committee decides on the traditional three-match ban, that would deprive John Mitchell of her services till the third pool-stage match of the RWC.
It has to be admitted that the ex-captain’s absence would have minimal effect on her team’s chances.
By my reckoning England had the non-existent bonus-point secured inside 18 minutes. Maddie Feaunati, the nominal No 8, found herself on the far right receiving a great pass from Zoe Harrison to receive the first applause.
That started a deluge. “Miss Versatility”, Helena Rowland, found herself giving a fine impersonation of Abby Dow on the far right. She finished with three tries and reflected her new title by switching later to 10.
In all this mayhem Las Leonas gave a thoroughly good account of themselves. They worked hard up front and threw the ball around with skill and abandon.
Two weakness were the couple of steps the No 9 took almost every time before releasing the ball – giving the defence more time to collect itself – and the inaccuracy of the line-out, such a regular feature of the game.
So the half-time score was already 43-0, and the ‘proper’ Red Roses team was still on the bench!
England added two more tries (seconds for the outstanding Sarah Bern and Rowland), before Spain got the reward their efforts deserved.
They built an impressive move which, for once, found completion. Claudia Pena broke through the midfield, and nobody could catch her (62-7)
Though the red card followed, England continued their merciless progress. Delightful, multi-phase passing brought try after try. May Campbell and Lilli Ives Campion both made their first contributions.
Errors did come, the odd chance was bungled (Argudo actually caught Dow on a rampage down the right), but overall the shape of the game came close to Mitchell’s ideals.
For me it was a small mercy that Father Time stepped in to prevent the hosts reaching three-figures, but it was a close-run thing.
Result: 97-7
Player of the Match: Helena Rowland
Referee: Aurelie Groizeleau (FFR)
Attendance: a measly 5,286
Teams
England:
15 SING 14 ROWLAND 13 JONES 12 SHEKELLS 11 BREACH 10 HARRISON 9 L. PACKER 1 CLIFFORD 2 ATKIN-DAVIES 3 BERN 4 WARD 5 IVES CAMPION 6 BURTON 7 M. PACKER (captain) 8 FEAUNATI
16 CAMPBELL 17 BOTTERMAN 18 MUIR 19 ALDCROFT 20 KABEYA 21 HUNT 22 HEARD 23 DOW
Spain:
15 PENA 14 CORTES 13 VIDUESA (captain) 12 Z. PEREZ 11 PIQUERO 10 ARGUDO 9 ARESTI 1 G. SILVA 2 BLANCO 3 DE ANDRES 4 CASTELO 5 MARTINEZ 6 PERALTA 7 ROSELL 8 CAPELL
16 JOU 17 ANTOLINEZ 18 E. GARCIA 19 ALAMEDA 20 PINEIRO 21 FERNANDEZ DE CORRES 22 CANO 23 C. PEREZ
