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.
Archer included in England's T20 World Cup squad
Jofra Archer has been recalled to England’s provisional squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States this June.
The 29-year-old, who has not played competitive cricket since May due to a long-term elbow injury, could make his first appearance for the international team since a tour of Bangladesh in March 2023.
Archer has been limited to just 15 T20Is since his England debut in 2019 and missed their 2022 World Cup success in Australia due to the same injury.
There is a recall for fellow fast-bowler Chris Jordan, who last played for England against New Zealand in September 2023, at the expense of Chris Woakes.
Uncapped Lancashire left-arm spinner, Tom Hartley, is also named in Jos Buttler’s 15-man squad, which includes nine players from the 2022 World Cup.
England will play a four-match T20 series against Pakistan at Headingley in May before they begin their T20 World Cup title defence against Scotland in Barbados on 4 June.
England’s provisional squad:
Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, To Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingston, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
England and Saracens number eight Vunipola fined after arrest in Mallorca
England international Billy Vunipola has confirmed he has been fined after an incident which saw him arrested in Mallorca on Sunday, with his club Saracens set to launch an internal investigation.
On Monday, widespread reports claimed Vunipola had been tasered by Spanish police in the early hours of Sunday morning, with an altercation taking place after he left a club in Palma.
Saracens later confirmed they were aware of an incident and said they would deal with it internally.
The number eight, who was born in Australia but has represented England 75 times, later released a statement of his own via his club, denying that any violence took place and confirming the police investigation was now closed.
"I can confirm I was involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding when I was leaving a club in Mallorca on Sunday, which got out of hand," that statement read.
"Contrary to media reports, there was no violence, no fight and I did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else.
"I was charged with resisting the law and, following an 'express trial', I have paid a fine of €240. The Spanish police investigation is now closed, and I am flying back to the UK today.
"I will obviously cooperate with the Saracens internal process and unreservedly apologise for any inconvenience to all involved."
Bayern star Kane scores 400th senior goal
Harry Kane surpassed the 400-goal mark for his senior career as his double helped Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Kane moved within one of the milestone as he put Bayern 1-0 up after just nine minutes, coolly finishing from close range after Konrad Laimer's pass had set him up.
Then, after Frankfurt levelled through Hugo Ekitike, Kane slotted home a penalty with typical aplomb following a foul on Thomas Muller to move himself onto 400 career goals and ultimately lead Bayern to victory.
Kane scored 280 of his goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become the club's all-time leading scorer when he netted for the 267th time in Spurs colours against Manchester City last February.
His tally of 213 Premier League goals, meanwhile, puts him just 47 behind the competition's all-time leader Alan Shearer, who scored 260 times for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
Kane is also the most prolific player in England's history, his 62 goals for the Three Lions coming in 89 international appearances.
He memorably missed the chance to surpass Wayne Rooney's previous record of 53 when he blazed a penalty over the crossbar in the Three Lions' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, only to clinch his place in history in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy three months later.
The very first goal of Kane's senior career came in League One during a loan spell with Leyton Orient as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in January 2011.
That was the first of five goals Kane scored in O's colours, while he also netted nine times in a loan spell with Millwall in 2011-12 and twice during a stint with Leicester City the following season.
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