The England women's rugby team, known as the Red Roses, returned to winning ways by defeating the United States 55-12 in New Jersey. The match was England's final appearance in the WXV Global Series, following two losses to Canada in the previous two weeks.
The star of the match was Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, who scored four tries. She crossed the line twice in the first 12 minutes, with her second coming after a penalty pass from fly-half Holly Aitchison. In addition to her, Jones, Venner, Field, Feaunati and Kabeya scored tries for England. Sing (2) and Harrison (3) converted. Emma Sing broke a good line before Jones's try.
The United States, who entered the match on a five-game winning streak, including victories over Ireland and South Africa, scored tries through Rogers and Zackary. Zackary scored the hosts' second try in the final action of the match, while Rogers scored from close range. Vogel converted. The Americans were ranked sixth.
The match was also marked by a heavy tackle by Alev Kelter on England captain Meg Jones. Mona Lisa Tupou was sent to the sin bin for a scrum infringement, and Kathryn Treder's try was disallowed for obstruction. The game was played at the Sports Illustrated Stadium, which has a capacity of 25,000.
Last year in Sunderland, England beat the USA 69-7 in the opening match of their campaign towards the world title. England's coach is John Mitchell, and the defence of the Women's Six Nations title begins in April. The Women's Rugby World Cup will be held in the United States in 2033.
