Women's Rugby League World Cup: England crush debutants Wales in Perth

England opened their Women's Rugby League World Cup campaign in dominant fashion, sweeping past tournament debutants Wales in Perth. Stuart Barrow's side ran in 13 tries to seal a 70-6 victory, overcoming an early scare to stamp their authority on Group A.

Early Welsh Promise and the Turning Point

For a fleeting moment inside the opening quarter of an hour, Wales threatened to pull off a major upset. Taking advantage of uncharacteristic handling errors from England, Wales applied heavy pressure that culminated in Paige Travis bundling over the line. Travis, who previously represented England at the tournament four years prior, sparked wild celebrations by scoring Wales' first-ever Rugby League World Cup try.

According to England captain Jodie Cunningham, speaking on Premier Sports, those opening exchanges proved testing.

"It feels good. We knew Wales were going to come out really passionate, really energetic, and those first 10-15 minutes were tough, but proud of the girls the way they stuck into it."

Jodie Cunningham, England captain, via Premier Sports

Conceding against a side they had previously defeated convincingly brought renewed focus to the Lionesses. Prior to the fixture, England had outscored Wales 114 points to nil across two previous meetings, and historical encounters included an 82-0 victory at Headingley. Once England regrouped, however, the intensity of the fixture quickly overwhelmed the Welsh defense.

Scoring Flurry and Individual Records

Amelia Brown opened the scoring for England after three minutes following a slick attacking sequence. Once Wales equalized, England responded through Georgia Wilson in the corner, setting off an onslaught that yielded seven tries before the interval and brought a 40-6 advantage at half-time.

Debutants Connie Boyd and Jasmin Strange both made immediate impacts, with Boyd securing a hat-trick alongside winger Anna Davies. Izzy Rowe orchestrated the attack masterfully, contributing two tries of her own and landing nine successful conversions. Rowe's 26-point haul equalled the record for the most points scored by an individual England player in a Women's World Cup match.

The match featured one of the longest-range tries in women's rugby league history. After a Welsh chipped kick to the corner bounced favorably behind her own try line, Brown raced 109 metres up the pitch to score England's tenth try, effectively breaking Welsh resistance.

Metric / Event	England	Wales
Total Match Score	70	6
Tries Scored	13	1
Conversion Goals	9 (Izzy Rowe)	0
Hat-Trick Scorers	Connie Boyd, Anna Davies	None

Post-Match Assessments

Despite the heavy defeat, Welsh head coach Tom Brindle maintained that his side would take positives from the experience of competing on the global stage, noting the team has only played 13 international games as a nation. Captain Bethan Dainton had previously emphasized the squad's goal to remain competitive despite facing rigorous opposition.

Reflecting on Rowe's performance, Cunningham praised the young playmaker's composure.

"She does that for fun in the Super League and I'm glad to see her do it in an England shirt. [Rowe] is so young but so mature in the way she plays. She takes us around the field, she's so calm on the ball, and her kicking game was outstanding as well."

Jodie Cunningham, England captain, via Premier Sports

Next Steps

Both teams face crucial fixtures ahead in Pool A, which also features reigning world champions Australia. Wales will look to rebound when they face Samoa, a fixture that represents their most viable path to securing a tournament win. Meanwhile, England turn their attention toward a high-stakes clash against Australia as they pursue their ambition of reaching a World Cup final for the first time.