England Women clinch Nations Cup
In the last round of the Women's Nations Cup played in Ontario, Canada, England defeated South Africa 25-0 and won a bonus point, so remaining undefeated. England will retain the title they won in 2008.
There is still a round of matches to play but England's position is unassailable as the USA beat Canada 15-10. England play Canada on Saturday.
England vs South Africa, 25-0
England had to work hard for the win and failed to put a point on the board until the 30th minute of the game. It was South Africa that started the game brightly, putting pressure on England and pinning them into their own half. South Africa were the first to create opportunities but with England defending well they prevented them from scoring also. And with South Africa missing an early penalty England slowly clawed their way back into the game.
Wing Kat Merchant, who scored a hat-trick of tries in England's victory over France, broke England's duck on 34 minutes when some good clean ball from a line-out saw the ball moved out to the mid-field. A good drive then saw the ball recycled out to the backs and with Charlotte Barras executing a good pass she put Merchant into space for an easy finish. Alice Richardson successfully struck the conversion and then a penalty moments later to hand England a 10-0 lead at half-time.
The second half was, however, a different story for England and they dominated rarely letting South Africa out of their half. With 45 minutes gone on the clock, vice-captain Barras added England's second try. It was Claire Allan who made the break, followed by some excellent work by the pack. The ball was then popped out to the backs who moved the ball down the line quickly to create space for Barras to dive over in the corner.
A lightning break down the right wing by Merchant and then a clever chip up field then saw Rachael Burford collect and score her first try of the tournament handing England a 20-0 lead.
South Africa continued to cause England problems, and although they couldn't cross the line, England continued to make some basic errors leaving them having to wait until the 80th minute of the game to wrap up the victory and the tournament win with fullback Barras pouncing on the ball and sprinting past the last line of defence to score.
England coach Gary Street: "I'm disappointed with the number of unforced errors we made during the game. This made it difficult for us but full credit must go to South Africa who took the game to us especially in the first half.
"We are delighted that we have won the tournament for the second year, and to do it away from home too against some very competitive competition. It has given us a very useful insight into where we are ahead of a World Cup year, but there is still one game to go and we must improve on this performance against Canada on Saturday and come back stronger."
England Captain Catherine Spencer added: "South Africa were very tough physical opponents and we had to dig deep for our 25 points. We didn't play our best game and made too many basic errors. Having said that we have played some very good rugby over our last three games and we have won the Nations Cup."
Scorers:
For England:
Tries: Merchant, Barras 2, Burford
Cons: Richardson
Pen: Richardson
USA vs Canada, 15-10
The last five minutes were thrilling as the USA won at the death.
Five minutes from full time Canada's left wing Tara Eckert scored a try which levelled the scores at 10-all after the conversion, from right in front, struck an upright and stayed out.
Time was up when USA centre Emilie Bydwell went over in the left-hand corner for the winning score.
Canada's coach John Long said: "It was a tough game today. We gave them opportunities to score and they took it, said John Long. “This was a game we knew we could win and by all means, we should've won but they scored with a heartbreaker in the last minute.”
Canada had much of the early play, keeping the USA pinned in its own territory and Canada's Brittany Waters scored. 5-0, which was the score at half-time.
In the second half the USA took the lead through a try by Amy Daniels, converted by Stephanie Bruce whose later kick put her side 10-5 ahead, which was the score till those last, exciting five minutes.
It was the USA's women's first victory over Canada since 2006.
Kathy Flores, the USA coach, said: “I'm happy the team earned another win in the tournament, and to get a win over a huge rival like Canada is obviously even more exciting. With about four minutes left in the game, it looked as if the game might end in a draw but we did not back down. I am proud of the team’s intensity up until the final moments,."
Scorers:
For the USA:
Tries: Amy Daniels, Emilie Bydwell
Con: Stephanie Bruce
Pen: Stephanie Bruce
For Canada:
Tries: Brittany Waters, Tara Eckert
Nations Cup results so far
Canada vs South Africa, 35-17
England vs South Africa, 25-0
England vs France, 43-8
England vs USA, 36-7
France vs Canada, 12-7
South Africa vs France, 17-17
USA vs South Africa, 39-0
USA vs Canada, 15-10
Nations Cup log
South Africa have played four matches, the other countries three each
England 15 points
USA 9 points
Canada 7 points
France 6 points
South Africa 2 points