England run in 12 tries as Kildunne sparks demolition of Scotland in Women’s Six Nations

The fortress walls of Murrayfield were finally at Scotland women’s disposal for their first standalone game but England rocked its foundations with a statement performance where fans were left questioning if the world champions had injury issues at all.

The 30,498 crowd was a record attendance for a women’s solo sporting event in Scotland but they were shocked into silence after the hosts failed to live up to the occasion. Scotland were poor, particularly in defence, with England running riot with 12 tries and scoring the most points they have against their old rivals since their 89-0 result back in 2011. If Scotland turn up in Italy next week in the same form, Fabio Roselli’s team will be licking their lips.

Scotland were their own worst enemy with 13 handling errors and a tackle completion rate of just 59%, meaning the hosts missed 52 tackles. But that does not take away from the outstanding England outing. On the face of things John Mitchell’s team should be struggling on pitch with 13 of their Rugby World Cup-winning squad missing through retirement, injury or pregnancy but in reality the Red Roses are proving the endless pool of talent they have. The latest player to be given a baptism in international rugby was the 19-year-old Bristol Bears back-row Demelza Short.

The youngster, who was playing for England IUnder-18s just last year, won her debut at blindside flanker with Alex Matthews injured and usual back-rower Abi Burton employed in the second row with England’s unavailability list including four locks. Short had a solid game but there was another forward who shone in player of the match Maddie Feaunati. The back-rower was key in Ellie Kildunne’s opening try with a great line break. She also came up with a maul turnover and was the physical punch the Red Roses needed at times to launch attacks.

England celebrate as Kelsey Clifford scores their fourth try. Photograph: Russell Cheyne/Reuters

Scotland were a shambles in defence and failed to capitalise on the front-foot ball they created but an area they were able to disrupt their opponents was at the scrum. The set piece was a positive element to the hosts game, with multiple scrum penalties won, particularly in the first half.

The game was the first home game for Scotland’s new head coach, Sione Fukofuka, and he was left in no doubt as to the gap he has to try to bridge with Scotland conceding more than double the points than they did the last time the two teams faced in the World Cup quarter-final. The Scotland captain, Rachel Malcolm, said: “You never want to see a scoreline like that. We need to dust ourselves off pretty quickly. We showed them too much respect and, at times, defensively, we were naive and let them come at us too much.

Rhona Lloyd of Scotland escapes to score their only try. Photograph: Richard Lee/Shutterstock

“But today was about so much more than just the game. For those who have been around for 10 years plus, we have come from a couple of hundred people in the stands [to today]. The reception was phenomenal.”

Nothing will take away from what the team achieved off of the pitch with a huge crowd. The anthem highlighted what it meant to the players with Malcolm peeking over her shoulder to look at the piper on the roof.

When the action got under way England scored five first-half tries, the best of the bunch seeing Kildunne dot down after Feaunati’s break and Kildunne’s second was her 50th for her country. Scotland got on the board through Rhona Lloyd but they proved the the only points of the game for the hosts with the visitors adding a further seven scores in the second 40. Sarah Bern scored two of the tries to add to the two she scored last week against Ireland.

Sarah Bern smiles after touching down her second try and her team’s eighth. Photograph: Molly Darlington/RFU/The RFU Collection/Getty Images

If Wales thought England may take their foot off of the gas against them in the next round after such a big win they will be mistaken, according to the head coach Mitchell: “It is very unlikely I will ever get complacent. I am probably at my worst when we win because I drive to try to raise the floor even more. We are clearly very fortunate to have great depth, which has been extremely tested.”

Scotland will have to recover from the hammering quickly for their trip to Italy next Saturday, while England will host Wales with general sale tickets all sold-out at Ashton Gate. Scotland will be a part of the next big milestone in this tournament when they travel to Dublin for the final round with Ireland’s first standalone game at the Aviva Stadium.