BY STELLA MILLS
It was a game of many firsts in Bristol. The Red Roses made their first visit down to Ashton Gate and they played a fully professional Welsh team for the first time.
The statement on everyone’s lips, however, is that the Red Roses have made history with the win over Wales, becoming the first male or female Test side to win 25 consecutive matches.
Of course, with the nation in a period of mourning, doubts did come on the prospect of this match even happening. As a mark of respect, the England squad wore black armbands on their jackets to sing the national anthem, and also had the words “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 1926-2022” on their sleeves.
As Wales finished belting out their national anthem, the mood in the stadium changed with all eyes on the Red Roses. It was an extremely proud time to be at a sporting event, with the England team singing “God Save Our King” for the first time.
Helena Rowland set the pace for the England squad, and herself, early on with a dive over the whitewash.
As the game continued, Rowland certainly made last matches yellow card a thing of the past with her performance speaking for itself.
Wales fired back, with Gwen Crabb breaking off a mighty maul to crash through the English line, Snowsill added the conversion to make the score even.
However, that glimmer of hope was soon shattered by Emily Scarratt, who slid through the Welsh defence to put England in the lead.
Things got worse for Wales, as Alex Callender was shown a yellow card, Marlie Packer then makes matters worse by bouldering through a driving maul to score.
From this point onward, England couldn’t be stopped.
In the 70th minute, the crowd got to their feet to remember Queen Elizabeth II, in honour of her 70 years of service, a minute of applause was given around the stadium.
The final ten minutes of the match saw Alex Matthews cross over the line to end the night England 73 Wales 7.
Simon Middleton has a long night ahead, as England players will be told tomorrow if they have made the squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
As the Red Roses head away with a staggering 25 wins, it’s hard to see anyone posing a major threat to this team.
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