Heavy defeat for Scotland in Leicester

Scotland suffered a comprehensive nine-try defeat at the hands of the a dominant England side in Leicester yesterday.

England took an early lead when Kelsey Clifford powered over for the opening try. Holly Aitchison added the conversion. 

Borderers Lisa Thomson and Chloe Rollie made strong carries but after some sustained pressure deep in Scotland’s 22, Marlie Packer crashed over from close range, with Aitchison again converting. 

England added a third try in the 20^th minute when Zoe Aldcroft ran it in under the posts. Aitchison kept up her perfect kicking record with the conversion. 

Despite brave defending from Scotland the Red Roses struck again. A line-out move released Claudia McDonald to score in the corner, and Aitchison converted again. 

In the 34^th minute a superb tap tackle from Emma Orr stopped McDonald just short, however England held advantage then after relentless defence, Abbie Ward found a gap to power over. Aitchison converted once more. 

Just before the break Lark Atkin-Davies squeezed over for the sixth try of the half. Aitchison slotted her sixth conversion to make it 42-0 for the hosts. 

Eleven minutes after the restart McDonald, grabbed her second try of the afternoon and Aitchison converted again. 

Two minutes later Lucia Scott entered the fray – making her Six Nations debut – alongside Leah Bartlett and Elis Martin, replacing Fran McGhie, Anne Young and Lana Skeldon.  

Orr then broke down the left wing and Scotland won a penalty. Helen Nelson kicked to the corner, and after a determined maul the ball was grounded.  

After a review from TMO, it was confirmed that Thomson had dotted down.  Nelson, cool under pressure, slotted the extras. 

Rhea Clarke then made her Scotland debut, joining sister Elliann on the pitch – the first time the Clarke sisters have shared the international stage. 

Scotland’s defence continued to scrap, with Elliann Clarke producing a key steal and Emma Orr again disrupting play with her footwork and kicking game. Thomson’s tactical kicking pushed England deep into their half, and for a moment, Scotland looked in control. A promising multi-phase attack saw powerful carries from Orr and Lucia Scott, but a knock-on at the try line ended the opportunity. 

With less than 10 minutes remaining further substitutions saw debut caps for Gemma Bell and Rachel Philipps, replacing Nelson and Sarah Bonar 

Four minutes later Abby Dow but on this occasion, Aitchison missed the conversion.  

With the clock winding down, Scotland found themselves a player down, with Chloe Rollie was shown a yellow card before Dow scored her second to close out the match. Aitchison missed her conversion. 

That was the last of the scoring and England won 59-7. 

Scotland: 15. Chloe Rollie, 14. Rhona Lloyd, 13. Emma Orr, 12. Lisa Thomson, 11. Francesca McGhie, 10. Helen Nelson – captain, 9. Caity Mattinson, 1. Anne Young, 2. Lana Skeldon, 3. Elliann Clarke, 4. Becky Boyd, 5. Sarah Bonar, 6. Evie Gallagher, 7. Rachel McLachlan, 8. Jade Konkel 

Replacements: 16. Elis Martin (on for Lana Skeldon, 53 mins), 17. Leah Bartlett (on for Anne Young, 53 mins), 18. Molly Poolman (on for Elliann Clarke, 63 mins), 19. Adelle Ferrie (on for Becky Boyd, 66 mins), 20. Gemma Bell (on for Sarah Bonar, 72 mins), 21. Rhea Clarke (on for Caity Mattinson, 60 mins), 22. Rachel Philipps (on for Helen Nelson, 72 mins), 23. Lucia Scott (on for Francesca McGhie, 53 mins) 

England: 15. Ellie Kildunne, 14. Abby Dow, 13. Megan Jones, 12. Jade Shekells, 11. Claudia MacDonald, 10. Holly Aitchison, 9. Lucy Packer, 1. Kelsey Clifford, 2. Lark Atkin-Davies, 3. Sarah Bern, 4. Rosie Galligan, 5. Abbie Ward, 6. Zoe Aldcroft (captain), 7. Marlie Packer, 8. Maddie Feunati. 

Replacements: 16. May Campbell, 17. Hannah Botterman, 18. Maud Muir, 19. Morwenna Talling, 20. Alex Matthews, 21. Natasha Hunt, 22. Helena Rowland, 23. Emily Scarratt. 

Referee: Clara Munarini (FIR) 
Assistant Referee 1: Maria Heitor (FPR) 
Assistant Referee 2: Amber Stamp-Dunstan (WRU) 
TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR) 

Attendance: 15, 530 

Player of the Match: Claudia McDonald (England)