World champions England commenced their Women’s Six Nations title defense with a 33-12 bonus-point triumph against Ireland, attracting a record crowd of 77,120 at Allianz Stadium.
In their first match since their victory over Canada in the World Cup final last September, England led 21-0 at halftime, thanks to an early try from Amy Cockayne and two tries from Sarah Bern.
After the break, Jess Breach and the influential Ellie Kildunne scored, making the late tries from Amy McGann and Erin King mere consolation for the Irish side.
England did not need to reach their full potential to secure a 34th consecutive Test win at the start of a campaign they aim to conclude with an eighth consecutive Six Nations title.
They took the lead within seven minutes as Lilli Ives Campion secured the lineout, and a rolling maul concluded with Cockayne scoring from close range, with Helena Rowland successfully converting.
Bern scored her first try after 18 minutes, powering over next to the posts, and added another just before the half-hour mark, receiving an offload from Claudia Moloney-MacDonald to score in the corner.
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Rowland converted both tries, and Kildunne appeared to have secured England’s fourth try just before halftime, but video replays indicated that the full-back had lost the ball while attempting to ground it.
Breach recorded her historic 54th try from 54 internationals in the 54th minute, and Ireland finally scored after the hour mark when, with Natasha Hunt limping off, McGann managed to score under pressure.
Kildunne finally got on the scoresheet in the last quarter, breaking through a couple of challenges to score, before King crossed under the posts for Ireland to finish the scoring.
