England have ‘just got started’ after USA thrashing – Mitchell
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND — Red Roses coach John Mitchell has said his side enjoy being hunted by other teams and that they’re just getting started after a 69-7 demolition of the United States on Friday.
England put a marker down against the U.S. with a mix of physical dominance and skilful attacking rugby earning them a statement victory at the Stadium of Light.
They ran in 11 tries to one and while the U.S. put in a spirited effort in the opening quarter of the match, they couldn’t stay with a dominant Red Roses outfit who showed why they are heavy favourites to win the tournament.
With the first win under their belt, Mitchell said his team are happy being chased down by those wanting to claim a big scalp.
“We’re hunted, and we love being hunted,” Mitchell told his post-match news conference.
“Every team’s going to rise physically and mentally 10 or 15% [against us] we expect that but we’re also going to rise as well.
“We’ve only just got started and there’s a lot of growth left in us.”
It was a near-perfect start to the tournament with a Women’s Rugby World Cup record crowd of 42,723 watching on.
“I think the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic,” captain Zoe Alderoft said.
“Walking out was such a special moment. Very proud of the girls. A little bit nervous to start I think that was as expected but we built into it and just very proud.”
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With so much hype around the tournament, Mitchell said everyone in camp was itching to get going after a long week of build-up.
“They’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. I think if anything if we’re honest we thought the week took ages,” Mitchell said.
“If anything, that was the most obvious thing. We just wanted to get started. It seemed just to elongate. Maybe now the tournament will quicken up and we’ll be able to get into it but yeah it seemed long.”