Scotland 5-57 England: Red Roses make strong start in Women's Six Nations

England got their Women's Six Nations title defence off to a roaring start with a nine-try demolition of Scotland.

The Scots had good possession early on, but England's depth of talent could not be kept out for long and the Red Roses scored six tries in the first half.

Scotland's Chloe Rollie made it over too and the hosts continued to challenge after the break in Edinburgh.

But England set off in pursuit of a fourth successive title as Marlie Packer completed a hat-trick.

The decision to move the Women's Six Nations away from the men's tournament to its own window in March and April seemed entirely justified as the sun shone and the tries flowed in Edinburgh.

Early England handling errors gave Scotland a solid start in front of a vocal crowd as they made use of a strong set-piece to string phases together, but they could not penetrate their opponents' well-drilled defence and Helen Nelson missed a penalty.

Before the tournament, head coach Simon Middleton had asked for more intensity from his Red Roses side and it showed as Leanne Infante took a quick penalty and Poppy Cleall barrelled into defenders before Packer made it over the line.

Lock Rosie Galligan — claiming her second England cap more than three years after her first — soon followed suit as she punched through a gap at the breakdown and fed Cleall for a try.

Scotland were not completely bowled over, though. Buoyed by their recent World Cup qualification, they got on the scoreboard in the 17th minute after swift work from the line-out saw Rollie go over.

Despite the scoreline, it was not as clinical a performance as England are used to, but with so many superstars in the Red Roses starting XV their 19th win in a row still seemed inevitable.

Maud Muir — a talent who can