England Women Under-20s head coach Amanda Bennett insists she faces a selection headache after her side maintained their unbeaten Nations Cup start with a comfortable victory over USA.
Fiona Davidson was the star of the show, the Richmond scrum-half running in a hat-trick in the 37-0 win, while there were also tries for Bristol’s Rebecca Hughes, Gloucester Reds’ Rachel Roberts, skipper Harriet Mills and Saracens’ Hannah Gallagher, who has now scored in every game she has played in for the Under-20s.
And after downing Canada 41-0 in their opener in Santa Barbara, meaning England are yet to concede a single point, Bennett admits she has been given plenty to think about ahead of Wednesday’s clash with South Africa.
“This game was a step-up in terms of performance especially in the areas of defence,” she said.
“The USA were unable to score against us and that is testament to our discipline, organisation and pride in our tackle completion.
“The USA were physical, tenacious and determined but our team organisation, game understanding and patience paid off.
“After two games, everyone in the squad has had pitch time and we are faced with selection dilemmas going into our third game against South Africa on Wednesday.
“We now turn our attention to the Boks, who have improved in each game. We know we need to repeat, and improve on, our performance against the USA if we want to reach the Nations Cup final on Saturday.”
After constant pressure Davidson grabbed her first of three tries after 16 minutes, and it was soon 10-0 as wing Hughes finished off a good move in the corner.
Despite some wayward kicking England added to their score when Roberts went over on 32 minutes, while Mills rounded off a comfortable first half with a try just before the break, heading into the interval with a healthy 22-0 lead.
And just like the first half, England had to be patient to cross the whitewash in the second, Davidson again breaking the deadlock after 55 minutes.
And she wrapped up her hat-trick soon after, with flanker Gallagher wrapping up proceedings with the seventh and final try.
