England player ratings vs Scotland | 2024 Guinness Women's Six Nations
England player ratings live from Hive Stadium: It was an afternoon where the weather was four seasons piled into one, but the greasy/windy/rainy/sunny elements didn’t throw a massive spanner in the works of John Mitchell’s England, who notched a 46-0 win that leaves them another step closer to sealing a sixth Six Nations title in succession.
Head coach Mitchell explained post the round two success over Wales in Bristol that this campaign’s mission was to expand the England playbook and finesse their different ways of playing. This all-encompassing approach produced some teething difficulties and reduced winning margins against Italy and Wales compared to 2023.
It was marginally similar here in Edinburgh. Fifty-one points was the gap last year, England winning 58-7 in Newcastle, and it was 52 two in 2022 – 57-5 – when the countries previously clashed at the Hive.
Here, their eight-try triumph only had a 46-point margin, the inclement weather hampering the English attack, which also suffered from too many turnovers. There was also a swathe of penalties given up, while Scotland deserved kudos for their nuisance breakdown work.
All this combined to delay the English from bagging the four-try bonus until the 44th minute, and the visitors then suffered the red-carding of hooker Amy Cokayne 11 minutes later, as a yellow-carded shoulder to the head contact followed her first-half foul play where she lifted an opponent over the horizontal in a tackle.
England did get off to a flyer with early tries from Cokayne and Abby Dow but they then had scores for Jess Breach and Maud Muir disallowed, the latter due to Cokayne’s sin-binned tackle in the build-up.
The slender 0-10 gap and the advantage of an extra player for the next 10 minutes roused the capacity 7,000-plus home crowd, but a converted Ellie Kildunne try scuppered their chance to strike back and it gave the visitors a 17-point interval lead.
That was crucial, and four second-half minutes were all England needed for Sadia Kabeya to score the bonus point try.
A brace from Breach followed either side of the permanent exit of Cokayne, and Mitchell’s team then closed out the fixture with scores from the classy Kildunne and no-nonsense sub Marlie Packer.
Here are the England player ratings from Edinburgh with Ireland next up at Twickenham next Saturday:
15. Ellie Kildunne – 8
Too frantic at times in Bristol, she illustrated here why she has the potential to be a world-class Rugby World Cup standout next year with her alert defence and silky attack. There was an acrobatic, gather-and-rollover finish for her 34th-minute score, and then her intelligence was evident when generating the two-on-one for her 65th-minute walk-in.
14. Abby Dow – 7
Picked up where she left off at Ashton Gate, showcasing her ability to exploit space with an 11th-minute finish out wide. Was eager for involvement, as seen in her switching wings to give Breach the assist on 52 minutes.
13. Megan Jones – 7.5
Would have cursed her knock-on that denied Breach a first-half score, but she reacted positively and her football-style right-footed pass inside to set up the Kildunne try was supreme. Very tidy 72-minute effort.
Dow ? Kildunne ?
A second try for the fullback ? @RedRosesRugby #GuinnessW6N #SCOENG pic.twitter.com/jDZg3gUL8e
— Guinness Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) April 13, 2024
12. Tatyana Heard – 7
Her defence came to the fore more in her 65 minutes as she finished the opening half joint top of the English tackle count and she continued on from there to ensure her team ‘nilled’ the Scots.
11. Jess Breach – 7.5
Was left disappointed that her 25th-minute try was cancelled due to a knock-on inside her, but she remained patient and finished with two lovely taken scores in a seventh-minute second-half spell. Her footwork for her second after securing a loose Scottish kick was electric.
10. Holly Aitchison – 7
Her struggles off the kicking in Bristol continued here, although the filthy wind was a serious factor. Other than that, she played her role well, producing numerous well-timed interventions with actions such as the smart kick behind the defence for the third try and then her running around Heard for the fifth with a scrum penalty advantage.
9. Natasha Hunt – 7.5
Impressive work rate on a day where the conditions could have been very problematic. Showed she was on her game with the swift way she tidied up a loose ball that squirted from a maul in the lead-up to the opening try. Tackled well as well in the traffic throughout her 65 minutes.
WINTER HASN'T GONE AWAY: The April conditions in Edinburgh turned horrible for the England national anthem. #GuinnessW6N #SCOvENG #rugby #ScottishRugby #EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/Cv97WVN2Lv
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 13, 2024
1. Hannah Botterman – 8
The pick of the forwards during her 57 minutes. It wasn’t just her set-piece that caught the eye, she was greedy for ball carrying and was involved in several scores. Also lit up the crowd with her 22nd-minute intercept, break, and kick. Okay, it shanked into touch but it was the type of exciting moment that got a great reaction.
2. Amy Cokayne – 2.5
Celebrated her first Test appearance in 12 months with a lovely seventh-minute step to opening the scoring, but her performance was ruined by a pair of unnecessary yellow carded tackles which left her red-carded with 25 minutes remaining.
3. Maud Muir – 7
Can’t be happy with the 22nd-minute scrum penalty conceded on an England put-in, but she was otherwise a fine set-piece operator whose willingness to carry a great asset for her team
4. Rosie Galligan – 6
Player of the match in round two, this was a contrasting 58-minute performance that ended with England needing to get the sub hooker when reduced to 14 players. Her frustrations were best summed by the botched first-half pass straight into touch when the score was 17-0.
5. Abbie Ward – 6.5
Promoted from the Ashton Gate bench, the star of a brand new RugbyPass TV documentary had one of those afternoons that was all about the unseen work in the trenches.
6. Zoe Aldcroft – 7
Switched from second row to skipper the side in place of the benched Packer, she shrugged off a soft knock-on less than 90 seconds in to play a captain’s part across her 80 minutes. Topped her team’s tackle count and kept them composed when down to 14 for 10 first-half minutes and again when a player short for the closing 25 minutes of the second.
7. Sadia Kabeya – 7.5
A lovely 60-minute effort from a very mobile player. Super footwork and pass put Dow in for her early score, and she was rewarded later by dotting down the bonus point try off the back of a dominant scrum.
8. Alex Matthews – 7.5
Another whose display was very positive, being dynamic in the carry while also defensively robust when required.
First phase perfection from @RedRosesRugby ?@JessBreach extends their lead out wide ?#GuinnessW6N #SCOENG pic.twitter.com/4hUXRL1I8b
— Guinness Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) April 13, 2024
Replacements:
It wasn’t until two minutes after the red card, with the score at 29-0, that England made their first switch, sending on their entire sub front row whose first contribution wasn’t great as they conceded a penalty at the scrum.
The other two forward subs were introduced on the hour, with Packer finishing nicely on 73 minutes. The first backs alterations were Lucy Packer and Zoe Harrison on 65 with Sydney Gregson following seven minutes later.
Comments on RugbyPass
I bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments