England earned their third straight victory over New Zealand on Sunday as a scintillating attacking performance helped them to a 49-31 win in Vancouver.
Jess Breach scored a hat trick, while fellow winger Abby Dow and fullback Ellie Kildunne scored two each to keep England’s perfect record at the WXV 1 tournament alive.
The Black Ferns, who were stunned in a 29-27 defeat to Ireland last week, opened the scoring in the sixth minute before England ran in three unanswered tries to take control of the match.
They continued in a similar vein in the second half, as they ran out to a 39-12 lead shortly after the break.
England’s attacking weapons ran riot throughout the match and while New Zealand scored points of their own, the result was never in doubt as John Mitchell’s side showed once more why they are ranked as the best in the world.
“When the girls are on it, they are on it. They are a very special group and for large parts of that game they were on it,” Mitchell said.
“We have a responsibility and standard around our last pass, so it was really good to see that executed today.
“We are no longer just a forward pack or a backline, we leaked a few tries as well, but that wasn’t through a lack of intent and we will just look to score more if people score against us.”
England go on to face Canada, who are also unbeaten in WXV 1, next week, while New Zealand will bid for their first victory of the competition against France.