New Zealand have lost twice to Mitchell’s side since beating England in the 2022 World Cup final. The most recent was in the warm-up match against WXV at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham last month.
The world champion started the match quickly but failed to convert the early momentum into points. That mistake was not repeated as Olsen-Baker bundled in Hunt to reward his positive decision to join the scrum instead of taking the point in front of the posts.
Dow scored a brilliant solo attempt in the Allianz match in September, once again showing the world champions why they can’t afford to give him space and time, denying Rene Holmes to score from a corner.
One of the stark contrasts in former coach Simon Middleton’s style of play is his drive to play wider, with the aim of creating more of England’s lethal back three.
“When the girls play, they play. They’re a very special group and they played for most of that game,” Mitchell said.
“We have accountability and standards for the last pass, and it was great to see that in action today.”
This contrast of styles continued to sharpen and after a routine finish from Breach’s corner the ball was quickly passed to Kildunne. Kildunne went outside the defense to clear and extended his lead as the highest scorer in Test rugby. Until 13.
The new attacking framework was evident during the Six Nations and WXV1’s nine-run win over the United States, but handling errors prevented the style from getting off the ground.
England were a bit more clinical here as she sent Dow out on the right wing with a slick hand to score early in the second half and then turned provider after she cleared again to set up her wing partner Breach.
Breach’s hat-trick try put New Zealand’s performance under the radar and it was a good showing for the winger.
“We are no longer a forward pack or a backline. We leaked a few tries too, but it was not for lack of intent and when people score against us we will try to score more,” Mitchell said. said.
“It’s up to the girls to back themselves to crack. There are times when it doesn’t work out. I like the way the whole team took charge today, especially the back three who caught the last pass.”
