Job done for Red Roses against USA but mission yet to be accomplished

By James Toney at the Stadium of Light

Things will only get tougher at this Rugby World Cup and England know this was a case of job done rather than mission accomplished.

There is an ocean apart between the favourites and their opening opponents the USA, and a yawning gulf in class too, despite only being separated by just nine ranking places.

In a heady atmosphere at the Stadium of Light, there was also an air of inevitability, as John Mitchell’s team rewarded a record 42,223 crowd with a swaggering display of their all-round game in their 69-7 win.

Erica Jarrell-Searcy shrugged off flailing England tackles to score for the Eagles, but otherwise the Red Roses plucked their rivals petal by petal – scoring 11 tries in response.

Ilona Maher might have nine million followers on social media, but Ellie Kildunne underlined why she was named World Rugby's best player last year.

The England full-back was here, there and everywhere, scoring two tries and assisting two more as she ran a game-high 153 metres.

Get your cowboy hats ready! 🤠

Ellie Kildunne skates over for her first try of #RWC2025 🔥 #ENGvUSA pic.twitter.com/XqzYW6essI

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) August 22, 2025

And she deserves to go viral for two moments of sublime skill: racing 70 metres for one score and then showing silky control to bring the ball down with her knee before setting team-mate Jess Breach galloping free.

"Ellie always gets the glory, she does all the good stuff and everyone just loves her," deadpanned prop Hannah Botterman, who, alongside flanker Sadia Kabeya, laid the foundations for victory with stand-out shows.

"The front row like to joke she's always robbing us of player of the match, but she's a serious talent and she does things on a rugby field that no-one else can do. If we give her the space and platform to perform like she does, then who cares."

However, Kildunne was quick to deflect praise towards the forwards post-match, with all the usual clichés about team over individual.

"I told her to say that – she was under very firm instructions," joked Botterman.

If the crowd were giddy, Mitchell preferred to focus on what needs to be improved. It is going to be a long six weeks, and England should not really be properly tested until the semi-finals.

After a seemingly endless build-up, it was no surprise they started nervously, spilling the first three restarts while their line-out stuttered and passes repeatedly failed to go to hand.

They scored two early tries to calm things down, but Mitchell will have winced at the way Jarrell-Searcy carved them apart for her score.

It would be a stretch to call Alev Kelter's needless yellow card a turning point, but England did spring clear with a numerical advantage, as seven unanswered second-half tries put gloss on the result.

"I think we coped with the occasion really well, this group will get better and we need to as well," said Mitchell.

"We started a bit slowly but we lifted our intensity in the second half. I enjoyed seeing how the girls built pressure and forced their negativity, and we took advantage of that.

"We've got lots of special players and it's hard to single anyone out. The scrum was outstanding and probably buried the USA. We can't rely on individuals as this tournament progresses."

But this is a long tournament, and the team have already been together in a long camp. Mitchell knows the twin dangers of complacency and even boredom.

In this year's Six Nations, England swept all before them in the first four games, beating Italy and the home nations by a combined 213–29.

In the Grand Slam decider against France, they stuttered over the line by a single point - a wake-up call to anyone who thinks the next few weeks are a formality.

"We're the Red Roses. We set outstanding standards, we've got great depth and we're constantly creating pressure in training," added Mitchell.

"The girls are very driven, they don't want to get beaten. We can't control our opponents; we just need to deal with what we are confronted with.

"We're being hunted, every team will rise against us, but we've only just got started and there is a lot of growth left in us. There is always something to work on – this game is infinite."

He plans to give all his squad a World Cup run-out by next weekend, which means there will be significant changes for the game against world number 15 Samoa in Northampton – a team with lots of heart, but not much hope of stopping this bandwagon.

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