England battle to win over Wales

England did enough though to win 19-0 with tries coming from new Danielle Waterman and Fran Matthews. A penatly try in the second half put a gloss on the scoreline following a game played in poor conditions.

Wales, who had handed Wasps lock Ashley Rowlands and Neath Athletic wing Charlie Murray their first starts, were coming into the tournament hoping to perform much better than their efforts 12 months ago where they finished bottom of the table, but a winning start was always going to be tough given the quality of the opposition.

Nonethless, new head coach Kris de Scossa can take a lot of positives from this opening battle.

Both sides had to contend with tough conditions - with the ground soft underfoot and a strong wind made handling difficult.

England dominated the game for most parts but a red wall of Welsh defence made life frustrating for the team chasing a sixth consecutive title.

Winger Fran Matthews opened Englands account in the first half with an 11th minute touchdown. England had all the possession in the opening stages but the rain soaked pitch made the playing conditions difficult.

The score came from a powerful scrum from which Maggie Alphonsi offloaded to Matthews on the wing. McLean, however, was unable to make the conversion with the gusty wind going against England.

The visitors were then made to wait for any more spoils with neither side able to capitalise. The sodden ground made the going heavy while looking after the ball proved slippery in the wet conditions. Wales were camped inside their own half throughout the first spell but dogged defence by backrow trio Jamie Kift, Sioned Harries and Lisa Newton kept the home side in the game.

Eventually the pressure told and after Wales were penalised one too many times, referee Mark Patton punished the home side with an England penalty try.

Catherine Spencer had been close to taking the points but following the referees intervention it was McLean who stroked over the penalty try, handing England a 12-0 lead at half time.

With the wind now behind them, England came out in much more impressive style, putting try number three on the board after just eight minutes.

Scrum half La Toya Mason whipped turnover ball to McLean and a quick offload to Waterman saw the full back free to score on the right wing.

With McLean adding the conversion England found themselves in a more comfortable 19-0 lead, which is where they stayed until the final whistle.

Wales hit a purple patch in the dying stages and camped on the England try-line but lock Shona Powell Hughes coughed up possession when charging into the heart of the defence.England were able to clear the danger and held their line intact until the final whistle.

England:Danielle Waterman, Katherine Merchant, Emily Scarratt, Kimberley Oliver, Fran Matthews Katy McLean, La Toya Mason, Rochelle Clark, Amy Garnett, Sophie Hemming, Joanna McGilchrist, Rebecca Essex, Sarah Hunter, Margaret Alphonsi, Catherine Spencer

Replacements:Burnfield for Essex (HT), Burford for Oliver, Crowley for Hemming, Fisher for Hunter (all 52), Roberts for Waterman, Croker for Garnett (all 61)

Wales:Aimee Young, Caryl James, Adi Taviner, Elen Evans, Charlie Murra, Elinor Snowsill, Amy Day, Caryl Thomas, Rhian Bowden, Catrin Edwards, Ashley Rowlands, Shona Powell Hughes, Lisa Newton, Sioned Harries, Jamie Kift

Replacements: Lowri Harries, Jenny Davies, Vici Owens, Sian Williams, Laura Prosser, Awen Thomas, Kerin Lake