Reed shines in 50th test as Red Roses triumph over USA

What happened? 

It was a special afternoon for Bristol Bears Women inside centre Amber Reed who reached 50 caps for England in San Diego. It was also an afternoon to remember for her fellow Bears teammate, Clara Nielson who won her first International cap as a replacement.

Powerhouse prop Sarah Bern was also named in the starting line-up for the Women’s Super Series opener.

England opened the scoring when Amber Reed launched a pinpoint crossfield kick that bounced into the hands of Poppy Cleall to feed Kelly Smith to stroll in – Emily Scarratt converting.

Hope Rogers responded for the hosts no less than five minutes later as she crossed from close range, but Claudia Macdonald’s sniping run off the back of a ruck saw her dart over the chalk from 10 metres out.

An interception try from Emily Scarratt and a further score from Heather Kerr saw the Red Roses take a commanding 26-5 half-time lead.

England wasted no time in stretching their lead out further in the second half as Kerr grabbed her second try off the back of a driving maul.

Natasha Hunt rounded off the scoring for Simon Middleton’s side as the scrum-half pounced on a loose kick by the Eagles to gather and sprint in from just outside their 22, Scarratt getting her fourth conversion.

The victory was England’s 18th straight victory over USA in all competitions since the very first meeting in the 1991 Women’s Rugby World Cup final which the Eagles won.

Half century for Reed

Amber Reed won her 50th Red Roses cap on Friday evening in a typically commanding performance from inside-centre.

She demonstrated her range of skills from distribution, crossfield kicks and making some big hits in defence.

Since making her debut against France in 2014 she has 124 points which includes three tries, 35 conversions and 13 penalties.

A tribute to #RedRoses centre @AVReed12 ahead of her 50th cap for England tomorrow in San Diego 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/44CxjDmygp

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 27, 2019

Teams

USA:15. Bulou Mataitoga, 14. Bui Baravilala, 13. Alev Kelter, 12. Fane Haungatau, 11. Jennine Duncan, 10. Gabriella Cantorna, 9. Ashlee Byrge; 1. Catie Benson, 2. Joanna Kitlinski, 3. Hope Rogers, 4. Kristine Sommer, 5. Stacey Bridges, 6. Kate Zackary (capt), 7. Joycelynn Taufa, 8. Asinate Serevi.

Replacements:16. Nick James, 17. Charli Jacoby, 18. Alycia Washington, 19. Elizabeth Cairns, 20. Olivia Ortiz, 21. Emily Henrich, 22. Kris Thomas, 23. Katana Howard.

England: 15. Sarah McKenna, 14. Lydia Thompson, 13. Emily Scarratt, 12. Amber Reed, 11. Kelly Smith, 10. Zoe Harrison, 9. Claudia Macdonald; 1. Ellena Perry, 2. Heather Kerr, 3. Sarah Bern, 4. Zoe Aldcroft, 5. Abbie Scott (capt), 6. Jo Brown, 7. Marlie Packer, 8. Poppy Cleall.

Finishers: 16. Clara Nielson, 17. Hannah Botterman, 18. Chloe Edwards, 19. Catherine O’Donnell, 20. Sarah Beckett, 21. Natasha Hunt, 22. Millie Wood, 23. Emily Scott.

England’s Super Series 2019 fixtures

• England 38-5 USA
• England v Canada - Saturday 6 July/Sunday 7 July (Sky Sports Action, Mix and Main Event – KO 17:15 PDT/01:15 BST)
• England v France - Wednesday 10 July (Sky Sports Action, Mix and Main Event – KO 14:00 PDT/22:00 BST)
• England v New Zealand - Sunday 14 July (Sky Sports Action and Main Event – KO 13:00 PDT/21:00 BST)