Poppy Cleall’s hat-trick ensured England continued their unbeaten Women’s Six Nations campaign with a 66-7 victory over Wales in front of a raucous crowd at the Twickenham Stoop.
It was a fast start for Cleall, who scored two tries in the opening 15 minutes, before Katy Daley-Mclean and Vicky Fleetwood both dotted down as Simon Middleton’s side secured the try bonus point before the break.
Wales got on the scoreboard through a penalty try in the second half but scores from Harriet Millar-Mills, Amy Cokayne, Zoe Aldcroft, Hannah Botterman and Sarah McKenna rounded off England’s victory.
The defending champions continued their imperious form in front of 10,974 fans and sit top of the table with four wins from four in this year’s Championship.
With no victories to their name in this year’s Six Nations, Wales were looking to change that but they faced a tough test against the top side.
A strong scrum in the opening exchanges showed they meant business but England began to find gaps in the Welsh defence.
Cleall got the first try of the afternoon for the Red Roses with just seven minutes on the clock when the lock managed to reach out over the line.
Captain Emily Scarratt added the extras and it wasn’t long before Cleall had her second under the posts – only five minutes later.
After some good work from Shaunagh Brown, the ball was once again in Cleall’s hands and she powered over the line to get her second of the afternoon.
Wales tried to get a foothold in the game but were compounded by a few handling errors and mistakes at the lineout.
Before long the Red Roses had their third when Daley-Mclean broke through a gap from 25 metres, evading the Welsh defenders to dot down and give her side a 19-0 lead.
Wales then had a period of possession where they made their way to the 22 but they were not able to capitalise in the red zone.
England’s set-piece was working a treat and their sixth successful lineout gave them the bonus point when Fleetwood touched down from the resulting maul and Scarratt added the extras.
After the break the Red Roses didn’t have to wait long before they were through again, this time Millar-Mills slicing open the Welsh defence to touch down.
Cleall claimed her hat-trick with 50 minutes gone when she broke from outside the 22, picking the ball up off the bottom of the ruck and surging over the line.
England’s seventh try came when Cokayne, who was making her 50th appearance for the national side on home soil at the Stoop, dotted down.
Wales got their first points of the afternoon through a penalty try, England scrum-half Natasha Hunt penalised for a tackle off the ball and sent to the sin bin.
Despite being one player down, the Red Roses scored a further two tries as Aldcroft and Botterman both crossed the whitewash.
With minutes left McKenna crossed in the corner to score England’s tenth of the contest and seal a superb home victory.
