England and Jess Breach power past Wales to set up Six Nations finale

If further evidence were needed of the benefits of scheduling the Women’s Six Nations to stand alone, England’s third consecutive bonus-point win in front of 14,689 fans surely provided it. Two each for Jess Breach and Lark Davies among England’s 10 tries helped to overpower Wales, who defended with spirit before the workload simply became too much.

As they build towards this year’s World Cup, Simon Middleton and his squad will have areas they want to improve: the lineout misfired occasionally and Wales inflicted pain at scrum time, particularly before the break. A serious injury to Abby Dow was also a significant downside, but this was ultimately a crushing success which showcased England’s balanced all-round game. Wales, for the first time, have 12 players on full-time contracts this season and will continue to improve. But the gulf in class became increasingly apparent as the evening wore on.

Abbie Ward’s damaging, tackle-breaking early run suggested it was going to be a long afternoon for the Welsh defenders and the Red Roses showed their collective strength on their first visit to Wales’s 22, shoving a maul 10 metres. Wales’s early defending was up to standard, however, and they soon demonstrated their own power at a couple of scrums and with a well-drilled driving maul. It took an excellent tackle by the England fly-half Zoe Harrison to bring down Kayleigh Powell, the Wales full-back, who chucked a lovely dummy before stealing through the hosts’ line. A mammoth hit by the England prop Sarah Bern also sent the Wales openside flanker, Alisha Butchers, into reverse.

Dow, playing at full-back, went down injured on 13 minutes as the hosts neared the try-line and a lengthy stoppage was the result. As soon as she had been