A powerful performance from England’s pack ensured they overcame Women’s Six Nations rivals Italy 60-3 at Goldington Road to finish their Autumn series unbeaten.
Following back-to-back wins against France on the road and at home, Simon Middleton’s outfit capped off a year to remember with a dominant showing from the forwards.
Tries from Vicky Fleetwood, Poppy Cleall, Heather Kerr and Abby Dow saw the hosts race into a 22-3 half-time lead, with the first three scores all down to England’s strength up front.
Further tries from Emily Scarratt, Kerr again, Amy Cokayne, Rownita Marston and Sarah Bern, plus a penalty try, sealed the deal in the second half for the impressive Red Roses.
The victory means England’s unbeaten home record – which extends back to 2016 – remains intact for another year as they laid down an impressive marker ahead of their Championship defence.
The Red Roses started the game as they finished their dramatic win against France last weekend, crossing the whitewash inside the opening five minutes in Bedford.
A rolling maul from the hosts quickly gathered pace and Italy were powerless to prevent Fleetwood from crashing over the line for the opening try, with Scarratt unable to convert.
The Azzurre responded almost immediately with a simple three-pointer, only for England to head straight back down the other end and exert their physical prowess once again.
This time it was Cleall who put the finishing touches to the hosts’ second try, finally burrowing over on 20 minutes after England repeatedly punched holes in the Italian defence.
Scarratt made no mistake with her second conversion attempt and with the momentum in their favour, the Red Roses started to twist the knife as they bagged a third try.
The driving maul proved unstoppable for the retreating blue wall, allowing Kerr to take advantage and dot down before Scarratt narrowly missed the touchline conversion.
While Italy showed promise in attack, their discipline let them down and ensured England remained on the front-foot – a position they capitalised one more time before the break.
Unlike the Red Roses’ previous three tries, their fourth effort was all about the backs as Sarah McKenna played a key role before offloading to Dow to finish in style.
Scarratt was unable to convert another tricky attempt at goal but with a 22-3 lead at the break, England were more than satisfied with their effort in the opening 40 minutes.
And they continued to pile the pressure on their visitors after the restart, with their relentless persistence paying dividends when they added a fifth try in the 49th minute.
With the Italian defence tiring Scarratt pounced after a clever reverse offload from Zoe Harrison, collecting the ball and cutting through gap before going in under the posts.
Scarratt added the extras to extend England’s lead to 29-3 and it was not long before they had a sixth try, with Kerr doubling her personal tally before the hour mark.
Cokayne then joined the party soon after arriving off the bench, benefitting from another England driving maul as Harrison took over kicking duties and added the extras.
Even with the game done and dusted, the Red Roses continued to push forward and added three more scores through a penalty try and tries from Marston and Bern.
