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• Plenty more to come from England, says head coach John Mitchell

  England head coach John Mitchell believes there is “massive growth” left in the Red Roses after they completed a second successive Guinness Six Nations bonus-point victory.

  A 46-10 triumph over Wales at Ashton Gate means England top the table with maximum points ahead of their clash against Scotland next month.

  As in a runaway win against opening Six Nations opponents Italy, England scored eight tries. And they did it in front of a 19,700 crowd, which was the biggest home attendance for a Red Roses game away from Twickenham.

  Full-back Ellie Kildunne led the way with two tries, while there were also touchdowns for Hannah Botterman, Maud Muir, Abby Dow, Lark Atkin-Davies, Zoe Aldcroft and Rosie Galligan.

  Fly-half Holly Aitchison kicked three conversions, while Wales posted a consolation try from replacement Keira Bevan and Lleucu George landed a conversion and penalty.

  “The game doesn’t always go for you in attack, so you have got to be good on the other side of the ball,” Mitchell said. “The start is the maul defence and we are making good strides.

  “To be a really good team and for this team to grow we need to find different ways to score and make sure we can play the game in different ways.

  “We are trying to be very clear on our strategy. They built pressure in both halves and I think we left a couple (of tries) out there as well. I still think there is massive growth left in us.”

  England captain Marlie Packer added: “We put a spotlight on ourselves. We want to play with tempo and put an exciting brand of rugby out on the pitch.

  “Our set-piece was phenomenal, which gave us really good front-foot ball to play.

  “We want to let the handbrake off and play. The ball will go down at some points in the game because of how we are trying to play, but hopefully it is exciting rugby.

  “We had 19,000 fans here today and we want them to keep coming back.”

  For Wales, it was a second successive Six Nations defeat after losing 20-18 to Scotland, but head coach Ioan Cunningham was in upbeat mood.

  “I am very encouraged. If I am honest, I thought we left four or five tries out on the field today,” he said.

  “It is showing what we can do. It is just about being a bit more clinical.

  “I am so proud of the effort. We have just got to balance that up with having that composure at the right time and once that clicks we will be a tough team to stop.”

• England brush aside Wales to continue perfect start to Six Nations

  England recorded a second successive bonus-point victory in this season’s Guinness Six Nations as they brushed aside Wales 46-10 at Ashton Gate.

  The Red Roses’ pursuit of a sixth title on the bounce continued as they backed up a 48-0 victory over Italy with another try spree.

  Watched by a crowd of 19,700 – England’s biggest attendance for a home game outside of Twickenham – Marlie Packer’s team claimed first-half touchdowns from props Maud Muir and Hannah Botterman, hooker Lark Atkin-Davies and lock Zoe Aldcroft.

  Holly Aitchison kicked two conversions and, while Wales briefly held the advantage through a Lleucu George penalty, they had a mountain to climb in the second period.

  That challenge soon became way too much as quickfire tries from full-back Ellie Kildunne and wing Abby Dow took England past 30 points and confirmed a 39th victory in 41 Tests against Wales since fixtures began between the two sides.

  Replacement Keira Bevan touched down for Wales, with George converting, but further England tries followed through lock Rosie Galligan and Kildunne, whose second score matched her double against Italy last weekend, while Aitchison landed one further conversion.

  England head coach John Mitchell handed first starts of the Six Nations campaign to Tatyana Heard and Natasha Hunt, but back-row forward Sarah Beckett began a three-match ban after being sent off against Italy.

  Mitchell’s opposite number Ioan Cunningham also rang the changes, yet Wales’ preparations were dealt a blow when prolific try-scoring wing Jasmine Joyce withdrew due to a hamstring strain. Lisa Neumann replaced her in the starting line-up.

  George kicked Wales into a sixth-minute lead, but England’s response proved swift and decisive as Muir touched down following a thrilling break by Dow.

  England were quickly on the front foot again following a bright start by Wales and quality lineout possession underpinned a try for Aldcroft, meaning that she marked her 50th cap in style.

  Aitchison’s conversion made it 12-3 and, although Wales battled hard up front, they were undone by a length-of-the-field attack that led to England’s third try.

  Centre Megan Jones was the catalyst, showing great pace as she surged deep inside Wales’ half before quickly-recycled ball saw Botterman charge over. Aitchison’s conversion opened up a 16-point advantage after 24 minutes.

  England were on the hunt for a bonus point as the interval approached and it almost arrived when Aitchison kicked to the corner, but Dow narrowly failed to touch down.

  Wales then saw their scrum obliterated, allowing England an attacking lineout from the resulting penalty, and pressure inevitably told with a try for hooker Atkin-Davies as the Red Roses took a 24-3 lead into the break.

  Kildunne and Dow then put England out of sight and, although Bevan claimed a deserved consolation score for Wales, normal service was resumed through England touchdowns from Galligan and Kildunne.

• Jamie George assists with England training during Guinness Women’s Six Nations

  Jamie George has been enlisted to help preparations for England’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations clash with Wales after volunteering his services to head coach John Mitchell.

  Fresh from leading the England men’s team in an encouraging Championship, George worked with Red Roses hookers Lark Atkin-Davies, Connie Powell, Amy Cokayne and May Campbell at their Surrey training base on Wednesday.

  Mitchell struck up a close relationship with the 90-cap Saracens star during his time as Eddie Jones’ assistant and the Kiwi hopes it will be the start of greater knowledge sharing between the senior teams.

  “I worked with Jamie before and this wasn’t forced or coerced by me. I’ve kept in touch since my departure as a coach and wished him well for the Six Nations,” Mitchell said.

  “When I got this role he said if you ever any help just sing out. He was the one who actually encouraged it for this situation. We’ve made it work and I think the girls have enjoyed it.”

  England captain Marlie Packer knows George from Saracens, who she has represented since 2017, and sees the benefit of skills swapping with members of Steve Borthwick’s squad.

  “The girls really enjoyed it. We don’t want to force it because the men have their own programmes, the same as us, so the timing needs to be right for both,” Packer said.

  “We also have that club connection as well, Jamie has been doing some work with me at Saracens. It’s not just about the red roses, I know Bristol Bears do a lot with their men.”

  Mitchell has rotated his squad for Saturday’s clash with Wales at Ashton Gate by making seven changes following the 48-0 thumping of Italy in round one.

  Centres Tatyana Heard and Megan Jones, half-backs Natasha Hunt and Holly Aitchison, prop Maud Muir, lock Rosie Galligan and number eight Alex Matthews are the new faces.

  Back row Sarah Beckett is unavailable until the final match of the tournament against France after receiving a three-match ban for a dangerous clear out against Italy, but Mitchell confirmed she will come into consideration for that game.

  Second row Zoe Aldcroft will win her 50th cap after being one of the eight players retained in the starting XV.

  “Zoe is a massive competitor. She’s like a little springer spaniel in training! When she speaks, the girls listen,” Packer said.

  “Everyone knows she’s world class in everything she does and how she goes about her business.”