Category: 6. Sports

Perhaps the biggest insult for the visitors was that the first half was still going on when Chelsea finally broke through. They were into the ninth minute of added time when João Pedro leapt to make it 1-0 and the Fulham head coach, Marco Silva, began to make peace with the realisation that the footballing Gods were not on his side on an afternoon that offered further proof of how the introduction of technology has made the sport too pedantic, stop-start and open to being warped by blurred lines over subjective calls.

This game completely changed when Josh King, Fulham’s gifted 18-year-old midfielder, had a fine goal disallowed in the 21st minute. It is tiresome to have to talk about refereeing decisions but sometimes there is no other choice. VAR has brought us to this point. We pore over minute details, hunting for infringements, desperately seeking reasons to chalk off goals. Yet there was no major appeal from Chelsea when King scored. Trevoh Chalobah was in a heap at the other end of the pitch after being caught by Rodrigo Muniz but most people saw a good breakaway goal from the visitors.

Muniz had possession and was pirouetting away from Chalobah, who came in from behind to challenge the striker. The justification was a “careless challenge” but how do you challenge when you already have the ball? In any case the bar is surely supposed to be higher for VAR interventions. Clear and obvious? The only thing beyond doubt here was Silva’s rage. It stung that the lengthy check meant that there were eight added minutes at the end of the first half. Fulham cleared a corner in minute eight, only for play to go on. Silva argued that the whistle should have been blown for half-time before Enzo Fernández delivered the next one for João Pedro’s opener.

Fulham, who remain winless in the league, are not enjoying the rub of the green. They were on the wrong side of some refereeing decisions against Manchester United last week. Chelsea, by contrast, have had lucky escapes in their first two home games. They would have lost to Crystal Palace had Marc Guéhi not been penalised for “wall interference” when Eberechi Eze scored a free-kick.

As it is Chelsea have opened their campaign with seven points from three games. They look weary after their exertions at the Club World Cup but Enzo Maresca, who hinted that the possibility of a long lay-off for Liam Delap may force him into the market for another forward, was pleased with his side’s resilience. They survived Delap departing with an early hamstring injury and fought for the victory. João Pedro’s fifth goal for the club lifted the tension before another interminable VAR review at the start of the second half concluded with Fernández making it 2-0 from the penalty spot.

It was a strange occasion. Away from the refereeing, there was also the odd sight of Fernández responding to his assist for João Pedro by shushing the home fans before ripping off the captain’s armband and appearing to throw it at Chelsea’s fitness coach, Marcos Álvarez. Andrey Santos, a direct competitor for Fernández, had been sent out to warm up before the goal. “Enzo is a Club World Cup winner, a World Cup winner,” Maresca said. “When he is not good enough, he can recognise it. In the first half he was not good enough.”

Chelsea had started the day with a flurry of transfer activity, announcing Christopher Nkunku’s move to Milan and agreeing to send Nicolas Jackson on loan to Bayern Munich. Life moves quickly in these parts. By lunchtime there were jokes about Chelsea rushing Jackson back from Germany to fill in up front. They became a reality within two hours of the final whistle, with Chelsea seeking to cancel the loan move.

Already deprived of the ingenuity of Cole Palmer, there was further concern for Maresca when Delap went off after 14 minutes. A compressed pre-season is having an impact. Levi Colwill is out and Moisés Caicedo is not at top speed.

Chelsea are fighting off fatigue. They adjusted without Palmer, Jackson’s replacements starting together again, João Pedro and Delap combining through the middle. There was another opportunity for Estêvão Willian and the bright young things in attack made a confident start.

Yet the mood changed when Delap hurtled down the left and pulled up with a hamstring injury. Tyrique George, who is expected to leave before the transfer window shuts, came on to play up front. Jamie Gittens, the £48.5m summer signing from Borussia Dortmund, waited his turn. Alejandro Garnacho’s arrival from Manchester United is a good thing; Chelsea suddenly look short of bodies in attack.

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Maresca was not happy with their level during the first half. The action was scrappy but King’s movement and footwork caught the eye at the tip of Fulham’s midfield. The youngster looks like he belongs. There was conviction when he received Sander Berge’s pass, sped away from Tosin Adarabioyo, cut past the former Fulham defender and beat Robert Sánchez with a low finish.

Quick Guide

Chelsea 2-0 Fulham key stats

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• Chelsea have won their last six Premier League games kicking off at 12:30 on a Saturday, while Fulham have lost their last five, without scoring a single goal.

• Fulham became the sixth side to face a penalty in each of their first three Premier League games in a season, and were the first team to do so since Newcastle in 2021-22.

• Timed at 53:56, Chelsea’s opener from João Pedro (pictured) was the latest first-half goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game. Opta

Photograph: John Sibley/REUTERS

Fulham’s joy was short-lived. Michael Salisbury, the man in Stockley Park, told the referee, Rob Jones, to check the pitchside monitor. Silva erupted. He smirked and shook his head. The travelling fans howled when they saw a replay of Muniz’s challenge. Chelsea were still off the pace, though. Caicedo denied Timothy Castagne after more good work from King.

Gradually, Chelsea built some momentum. George went close as half-time approached. Fernández delivered a corner and João Pedro rose to head home. Fulham screamed daylight robbery. Their indignation grew when Ryan Sessegnon lifted his arms to block Chalobah’s cross in the 50th minute. It was a clear handball. Another long check was required to rule out a foul by João Pedro but the penalty was given and a much happier Fernández made it 2-0. It was not Fulham’s day.

Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen sprinted to victory in stage eight of the Vuelta a España, edging Elia Viviani and Ethan Vernon in a photo-finish as Torstein Træen retained the red jersey.

Viviani’s Lotto teammates tried to lead him out in the last 1,000m of the 163km flat ride from Monzón to Zaragoza, but Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Philipsen, who had also won the first stage, pushed in the final moments to steal the victory.

A breakaway made up of Sergio Samitier, Joan Bou and José Luis Faura established a four-minute lead in the first 20km but were reeled in with 17km to go to set up a sprint finish.

The Norwegian Træen (Bahrain Victorious) remains 2min 33sec ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in the general classification, with 13 stages remaining.

Philipsen, a former Tour de France points classification winner, said he lost contact with his leadout in the final kilometre. “I had to find my way, take a bit of extra wind, and really come late because my legs were concrete,” he said. “But I just managed to win, so I’m really happy, and the effort of the team has not been for nothing.

“Every Grand Tour win is always a special one, and it’s never easy. You suffer a lot of days in the mountains to get here. From now on it’s going to be a tough Vuelta, but with the win, that always makes it a bit more easy.”

Philipsen’s 15th Grand Tour stage win closed the gap on points classification leader Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) to 12 points. Britain’s Oliver Knight (Cofidis) withdrew due to illness, while George Bennett (Israel-Premier Tech) abandoned the race.

The Vuelta continues on Sunday with a 195km hilly ride from Alfaro to Valdezcaray.

RIGA (Latvia) – Nothing like hearing the MVP chants in a hostile environment! Nikola Jokic and Serbia fought through adversity after the team captain Bogdan Bogdanovic was ruled out with a hamstring injury, holding on to pick up an 84-80 win in front of 11,000 mostly Latvian fans.

The result takes them to 3-0 and secures their spot in the Round of 16 regardless of what happens in their remaining two Group A games in Riga. Tournament hosts Latvia, meanwhile, dropped to 1-2.

Turning Point

Serbia were up by 10 points or so for most of the game after their lefties Marko Guduric, Aleksa Avramovic and Ognjen Dobric combined for six three-pointers to add the outside threat for Serbia.

But with 1:45 to play, Davis Bertans knocked down a triple from way beyond the arc, cutting Latvia’s gap to just four points (75-79), and even when Jokic responded with a triple of his own, Latvia fired in a quick 5-0 run capped by Arturs Kurucs corner three that nearly blew the roof off of the arena in Riga.

At 82-80 with just under a minute to play, Jokic drew a foul and made both free throws. That was that, both teams failed to score in the remaining 40 seconds.

TCL Player of the Game

Latvia wanted to make Nikola Jokic a scorer instead of a facilitator, opting to defend him one-on-one, with Andrejs Grazulis for the first 90 seconds, then Kristaps Porzingis, Rolands Smits, and Klavs Cavars.

As you may imagine, the big guy has seen all sorts of defensive coverages, including that one, and just took advantage of all his matchups on the short roll and in the post.

The closest Latvia got to stopping him was when his elbow started bleeding after a nasty fall in the first half, forcing him to briefly leave the game.

But as soon as that was settled, he was back to his best. Jokic attempted 14 field goals in the first half alone, getting 19 points before the break, and continuing the torment in the second half, too.

He had 28 on 12-of-21 shooting by the end of the third quarter, and finished with 39 points, 10 rebounds and just 4 assists. Doesn’t matter, got the win anyway, prompting the aforementioned MVP chants from a loud group of Serbian fans behind their teams’ bench.

His previous career-high with the national team was 32 points, set against Italy in the Round of 16 in 2022.

Stats Don’t Lie

To have any chance against Serbia, especially with Bogdanovic out, you need to push them out of the painted area. Latvia could not do it, Serbia won the points in the paint stat 42-22.

Bottom Line

Serbia are now 3-0, certain of their spot in the Round of 16. That is, of course, just the first step to their goal here in Riga. Honorable mention: Filip Petrusev responding with 12 points after being disqualified early on in their previous game against Portugal.

For Latvia, there were a lot of positives despite the loss, with their offense finally resembling that flow we enjoyed so much in 2023.

They are now 1-2, with games against Portugal and Czechia coming up.

They Said

“Dobric cannot be Jokic. But Jokic cannot be Dobric, either.” – Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic praising the reaction of Ognjen Dobric who knocked down two big threes after not playing at all in the first half

“Obviously, Jokic is the best player in the world.” – Davis Bertans, Latvia

For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!

FIBA

PARC FERMÉ INTERVIEWS

TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Jolyon Palmer)

Q: Max Verstappen, third place, again in the top three in qualifying at your home race. The crowd love it. What a lap at the end. You looked like you were really dragging the car towards the front. Fastest middle sector. You’ve got to be happy with that.

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, for sure. I mean, this weekend so far was quite tricky for us, but Qualifying was basically the best I’ve felt all weekend. So that’s exactly what you want. To be honest, to be P3 here, I’m very happy with that. I mean, the energy of the crowd, of course, the whole weekend already has been amazing, and to see so much orange on the grandstand, it’s always very special.

Q: It’s a difficult circuit as well. Talk to me about the challenges. It’s windy, it’s fast as well, there’s not much runoff. Really gets the adrenaline pumping.

MV: It’s all what I like. So, I’m happy to be here.

Q: And the plan for tomorrow? You’ve got obviously the two McLarens at the front. You’ve got Isaac Hadjar, rookie, alongside you in fourth. All-out attack at the start or are you going to be happy with the podium?

MV: Yeah, let’s see what we can do. I mean, the McLarens have been very fast all weekend, so it’s also important to just focus on our own race, see what we can do. But this has been a good step forward. I hope that we can keep that up also going into the race tomorrow.

Q: Lando, so close. Twelve-thousandths at the end. You looked like you’ve been the form man all the way through the weekend. I guess you’ve got to be frustrated with that end result?

Lando NORRIS: Yes and no. I mean, it’s close. It’s been close the whole weekend. So, easily could go one way or the other. I guess a little bit disappointed I’m not on pole, but it’s close. Still some decent laps, so not the end of the world either.

Q: Do you think if you had hooked up the perfect lap, you might have been able to find it? Looked like you were finding something on the final lap.

LN: No. I mean, with the wind like this, a lot of it’s down to luck as well, you know – even with all the luck I’ve been having. It’s tough. I had a good lap, like Q3 run one, but it’s a smaller headwind down the straight and I lost like one hundredth. So, you could easily say it’s there. But I’m in a good position. We’re in a good fight. Oscar’s been driving well, we’ve been driving well all season, so we’ll have some fun tomorrow.

Q: You know from last year as well, you can take the lead from second on the grid. That’s going to be your chance tomorrow, and there’s some strategy in play between you guys. The fight’s still very much on.

LN: Yeah. I mean, we both had terrible starts last year, so we’ll see. I don’t think the the inside is a lot better, but it’s a long race, a lot of laps, and we’ll see what the weather holds for us too.

Q: Oscar, another brilliant Q3 effort. Twelve-thousandths at the end, but it’s in your favour and you’re on pole position. What a lap. Looked like you found your best when it mattered.

Oscar PIASTRI: Yeah. That was the definition of peaking at the right time. I think the whole weekend I’ve felt pretty good, but it’s just been a couple of corners that I’ve not been able to go any faster. I didn’t really go any faster in those corners, but I found some more elsewhere! So, yeah, super happy to come out with the result. Obviously, you’ve still got all the points tomorrow, but yeah, it was looking like a little bit of a tricky weekend so far, so to come out with that, I’m pretty stoked.

Q: How difficult is it every time you get in the garage, looking at what Lando’s doing, I guess, trying to find that little bit more, tracks coming up, you’ve got to find a bit more time to get the pole. How do you keep yourself finding the time?

OP: You just keep chipping away and that’s one of the nice things about having this much practice — you’ve got time to work on it. Like I said, I think I just improved the parts where I was already not bad and made up the difference that way. Still some things to try and improve and work on, but overall, very happy.

Q: And obviously the race and the points are going to be given out tomorrow. What’s it like in McLaren now? You know your big rival is the other guy on the other side of the garage. The strategy now — are you working insularly? Are you going to be working against Lando with your side? How is the briefing for that? How do you set yourself up?

OP: Let’s see what we get tomorrow. Obviously, we’re both trying to beat each other every weekend. So, there’s a few variables in there that you can mix up. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Oscar, very well done to you. That was a stunningly quick pole lap. Just how did it feel in the cockpit, first of all?

OP: It felt pretty good. You know, not perfect, but I think with the wind being so strong, there are some places that are never going feel perfect. So, it felt good and a good improvement from pretty much every other lap I did this weekend. So, it was nice to be able to pull it out then. But yeah, it took a lot of hard work, some patience in trying to find the time, and eventually I got there.

Q: Tell us a little bit more about that hard work and that patience. I mean, in practice, your team mate has had the edge. What changes have you made to allow you to take the pole today?

OP: You know, little tweaks here and there, but I think just trying to — I think in Qualifying when you get a few more goes at it, a few more sets, naturally it’s a little bit easier to find a little bit more. Obviously, the pressure is much higher than practice. But yeah, just felt like this weekend took a lot of attempts to try and improve in some places and eventually it was just enough attempts. So yeah, just trying to drive faster, essentially.

Q: And did you know from the start of Qualifying that you now had a car that you could at least compete for pole position with?

OP: Yeah, definitely. But I knew that from FP1. I think the pace this weekend has been very strong. FP3 seemed very, very strong and I knew that the car wasn’t the problem. It was just that it was taking me a while to improve in some places. So, yeah, the team’s done a great job in firstly putting the car in a good place for me and also helping me improve myself.

Q: Well, Oscar, let’s throw it forward to the race. The tyre compounds are softer than they were last year. Do you think this is going to turn into a strategic battle at the front?

OP: I don’t know yet. The tyre strategies from everyone are a bit different. I think us two are one of the only teams to have two Hards and a Medium. I think pretty much everyone else has just one Hard and one Medium. So, we’ve got that kind of up our sleeve, but it also kind of tells you a little bit of what most people are thinking, I guess. So, we’ll wait and see, but we’ve got some options available.

Q: Lando, let’s come to you. Very, very close to the pole. Just how was the lap — both laps, actually — how were the laps in Q3 for you?

LN: I mean, both felt pretty good. It feels quick around here, first of all, so I’ve been feeling pretty good the whole weekend, always in a good flow around here, which is important. Both my laps were good. I don’t think many people improved on their second runs, so I don’t know if the track got a little bit trickier or slower in the second run, but both were pretty close, I think. Again, within half a tenth or a tenth of pole position. So, yeah, tricky also with the wind. It can easily just favour you or not favour you. And yeah, one-hundredth is pretty minimal. Even coming out of the last corner, I’m a little bit up and I lose like two-hundredths by the time I get to the start-finish line and that’s pole position gone for me. No, there’s not too much to complain about. I think there were a couple of places where I wasn’t quite on a good enough limit and consistently losing a little bit too much lap time today and this weekend. So, some places and things I need to work on, but otherwise the laps were good, and I was still pretty happy.

Q: You talk about it being fast around here, and the lap times are much quicker this year compared to last year. In what areas around the lap are you finding the time compared to last year?

LN: No idea, but it’s a softer tyre. I don’t know if the wind changes that. The wind always changes some things. We also have a much quicker car. So, I guess just everywhere.

Q: Let’s throw it forward then. You’ve dominated the practice sessions so far this weekend. Just how much confidence do you have going into this race tomorrow?

LN: I would have loved to be on pole. I think that’s the thing that would have made me the happiest. But it’s been close all weekend. You just look at the results and I’ve been ahead. But I easily could have been behind by just losing half a tenth or a tenth here and there. So, it’s not like I’ve dominated it. I’ve just been ever so slightly ahead and it’s just switched the other way around for quali. But I still am confident for the race pace. We know that’s one of our strengths as a team. But I also know my main competitor is the guy ahead of me. We’ll see tonight. Of course, we always put the plan together, but with the other side and with Oscar and everything. So, it’s always a little bit trickier to beat that one guy. But at the same time, it’s a long race. We’ll see what we can do.

Q: You did it last year — you overtook Max Verstappen to take the win. If you need to, do you think it’s going to be possible to overtake tomorrow, to overtake your team mate?

LN: I mean, yeah — no offence to Max — he was in a much slower car last year. So that helps a lot. Oscar’s in a much quicker car this year and the hardest guy to normally overtake is your team mate, especially when in a quali like today where we were split by one hundredth. So yeah, I mean, it’s going to take some magic, some good strategy or incredible tyre saving or something. But it’s normally pretty difficult to overtake in the first place. It’s even harder to do that behind your team mate. So, I’ll see what I can dream of tonight.

Q: Max, let’s come to you now. Another great Qualifying lap from you today. Just tell us how it all came together for you.

MV: Yeah, I mean, so far this weekend, we’ve been struggling for grip and general balance. Luckily in Qualifying it was the best that I’ve felt all weekend. That’s, of course, what you like. It all just felt a bit more normal, a bit more together. Still not on the level of McLaren, of course, but at least to be P3 is very good for us. So, we did the right things in terms of setup directions. I’m very happy with that. It just made it a bit more fun — you had to push to the limit around here, which has some incredible layouts.

Q: What did you change overnight? Because you said after practice yesterday that it had been very difficult for you.

MV: Changed a lot. Even this morning it was still not good. So, then we changed other bits again and that made it feel a bit better. But it’s still quite tricky with the wind. It’s been very windy today and some corners you’re a bit guided by what the wind is doing. So, the car is pushing or sliding, and I guess we’re not the strongest at the moment, but still it was not bad.

Q: And because of the issues yesterday, is the long-run pace of the car a bit of an unknown?

MV: It’s a bit unknown, but I do think that what we have on the car should be more stable. But this season in general, our race pace has not been the best in terms of if you compare it to a Qualifying lap. But I just hope that at least we can keep the guys behind us literally behind us in the race. What happens in front of me, I have no control over. I’ll just try to do the best I can from my side.

Since arriving to rugby relatively late in life, Italy’s Sofia Stefan has certainly made up for lost time. So much so that when the pocket-rocket scrum-half takes to the field in York on Sunday, her teammates will almost certainly let her run out on her own to mark her 100th cap.

Stefan started playing at school in Padova aged 17, and just two years later, in October 2011, made her international debut against France. 

Now a regular for Toulon, it has been quite a journey via her home town club, Rennes and Sale Sharks. 

“I started at Valsugana Padova a little later than many other girls and honestly I certainly couldn’t have imagined a path like this,” she said on the eve of Italy’s second match at Women’s RWC 2025 against South Africa.

“I’ve had so many opportunities, I’ve met so many people, put myself on the line so many times and I’m very happy to be at this point for sure.”

Barattin, Gai and now Stefan

Following in the footsteps of Sara Barattin and Lucia Gai, Stefan is only the third Italian woman to reach 100 caps, and emotions will run high as she steps out in York in front of her family.

“It’s definitely been in the air for a while, so it (the pressure) can’t be avoided. I can’t help but consider it at this moment and I’m glad it’s like this, partly because it’s 100, partly because expectations are high, both on the match and on individual performance.

“There’s definitely pressure, but when we choose and have the opportunity to play at this level, we take it into account, so it’s one of the things I like. I also like learning to deal with it differently every time because there are always special moments.”

After their opening loss to France in Exeter, the Italians’ second match is one they must win if they are to proceed to the knock-outs.

“I’m very excited and above all for a game that is do or die, so I’d say the most important thing about tomorrow is winning the game.

“The individual paths are part of the collective paths because they must and can give something more. Tomorrow the goal is a common goal and that is to get a victory without a doubt, so the focus remains on that. But obviously it is a very important and special moment in my career.”

FP3

• It was sunny and mild for the start of FP3. The track was declared wet to start with but very quickly dried up thanks to the wind, so even though some teams used Inter tyres, Charles and Lewis went out on the only new Hard tyre sets they had available in order to scrub them in.
• For this session the two SF-25 featured two slightly different levels of downforce, running different rear wings.
• The programme was completed with new Medium tyres fitted on both cars. They then switched to Softs for the usual qualifying simulation, but Lewis was unable to make the most of them mainly because of traffic.

Q1

• Soft was the only compound used in qualifying today. Charles and Lewis used two new sets in Q1.

Q2

• Both managed to save one set of nearly new Softs, aborting their last run when the team saw they were both safely through to Q3.

Q3

• Charles and Lewis went out for their first attempt on the Softs used for the aborted Q2 lap.
• For their final attempt on new Softs both drivers failed to improve and missed out on a second row start by a tenth, with Charles qualifying sixth and Lewis seventh.

 

Charles Leclerc #16

It’s been a difficult weekend overall, which makes it tough to build up to the race in the way we want to. The balance of the car makes it tricky to drive and I didn’t put it all together in qualifying. It’s just that kind of weekend for us, but we may be able to play with strategy tomorrow. We’ll do everything we can to fight our way forward and bring home a good result for the team.

Lewis Hamilton #44

Today was a challenging one in terms of getting the car fully into the right performance window. We showed promising pace on the medium tyre in FP3, but weren’t able to fully translate that into qualifying, and there’s still work to do compared to the teams ahead. That said, after the summer break our priority was to keep building, and today was an encouraging step forward. This circuit is always difficult when it comes to overtaking, so if the weather does bring some mixed conditions tomorrow, hopefully it will create opportunities and make the race exciting for the fans.

Fred Vasseur Team Principal

Today we made a good recovery after yesterday when we were losing 6 to 7 tenths in two corners and struggling. But it meant we were having to come from too far back. We need to do a better job on Friday because looking to make a one second step up is too much in terms of set-up and too much for the drivers.

At this track, it’s difficult to find the right balance and the correct approach for the tyres. The layout of the track with the corners from 7 to 10 puts a lot of load on the tyres and if you are over the limit you can lose a lot in the final part. It’s a bit frustrating as I feel P4 could have been possible, but Charles admitted he made a mistake at turn 10. Lewis has had a very good weekend so far but it’s the same story as Charles, in that we started from too far back from yesterday when we were not in the right set-up window.

I think we have a good opportunity to do well tomorrow as our race pace seems okay. McLaren are far ahead but then it’s close between ourselves, Verstappen and Russell, so it will come down to strategy and tyre management.

NORTHAMPTON, England — England hammered Samoa 92-3 in the Women’s Rugby World Cup on Saturday in Northampton and broke several records in the process.

The Red Roses were overwhelming favourites for the second round Pool A clash and ran in 14 tries — including a hat trick from Jess Breach — in front of a crowd of 13,615 at Franklin’s Gardens.

The eventual scoreline set a record for the Red Roses in the World Cup, as the rout exceeded their 82-0 victory over Kazakhstan in the 2010 edition, while they also surpassed their previous record of points scored from their 84-19 win over Fiji in 2022.

Helena Rowland converted 11 of England’s 14 tries and coupled with her own score, that 27-point tally saw her edge past the most points scored by an England player in a Women’s World Cup match, surpassing the 25 scored by Sue Day (vs. Italy in 2002) and Nicky Crawford (vs. Sweden in 1998).

The match was always going to be stacked in England’s favour given this was the sport’s most-dominant side against a team of amateur players, many of whom had to take unpaid leave from their day jobs to participate in this World Cup.

So it was the Red Roses on their professional contracts and with the pressure of being tournament favourites against a side who were aware of their underdog status but were vowing to give it their all. Samoa’s theme for the week was “Mission: Impossible” and while they never wanted for effort or physicality, they were simply unable to stop a Red Roses side who showed 13 changes from their opening round 69-7 win over the USA last Friday.

With regular captain Zoe Aldcroft sidelined for the rest of the pool stages, Maggie Packer skippered England from openside with just Breach and Megan Jones remaining from the starting team that faced the USA in Sunderland. Jones was exceptional in outside centre again, while the half-back combination of Lucy Packer and Helena Rowland unpicked Samoa’s defence. Breach also grabbed a well deserved trio of scores after being a constant danger throughout.

The first half played out to script and expectation. England scored after just three minutes as Jones glided over after a neat pass from loose-head Kelsey Clifford. Samoa packed plenty of physicality in defence, but failed to make inroads in attack, despite unveiling a (failed) innovative lineout move which saw hooker Faith Nonutunu attempt to launch an NFL quarterback-style pass to their midfield. Any Samoan respite was short-lived as Breach flew into the corner for England’s second soon after and they had their bonus point sewn up before the quarter with Sarah Bern crossing from close range, and Jones grabbing her second all by the 16th minute of the match.

The records were being checked at this stage and the Red Roses’ scrum destroyed Samoa’s on their own put-in to turn them and score in the 23rd minute with Feaunati dotting it down.

The conditions were doing little to help either side and England would grab two more before the break thanks to Lark Atkin-Davies and Lucy Packer scoring from close range. Samoa finished the half in the ascendancy — aided by tight-head replacement Tori Losefo — but failed to get anything on the scoreboard to reward their endeavour and the passionate support in the stands.

But there were few celebrations quite like the ones which greeted Samoa’s penalty just after the break. Having lost their opener 73-0 to Australia, Harmony Vatau slotted the first points of their World Cup with a penalty from 32 metres out.

The players turned to the crowd, delighted, as they returned to their side of the field, and soon that support was on their feet again as Emma Sing knocked-on inside England’s half. But the Red Roses soon found their stride again as Clifford bundled over from close range to ease England past the half-century mark.

Breach then got her second and as the Red Roses got further impetus from changing their entire front-row, Mackenzie Carson crossed from close range for what was their 10th score.

Breach and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald continued to make yards on the wing, but it was Rowland who crossed next to bring up a personal tally of 25 points. England emptied the bench but continued their relentless scoring with Marley Packer crossing in the 70th minute, and Breach grabbing her third in the 74th minute as she outsprinted the Samoan defence to cross in the corner.

Moloney-Macdonald put the finishing touches on the rout as she scored in the final play of the game, with Rowland converting again from out wide to secure her spot in the Red Roses record books.

For Samoa, the defeat means their World Cup will finish in the pool stages, but England are now two from two and eyeing the knockout stages ahead of Australia in Brighton next Saturday.

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“A strong and successful Qualifying in Zandvoort as we lockout the front row for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. With just a few milliseconds deciding Pole position, both Oscar and Lando displayed solid performances in tricky conditions, driving on the limit in an extremely close session to set the two quickest-ever laps around this circuit.

“As with today’s wind in Q3, there are many variables that will contribute to tomorrow’s race, including a persistent risk of rain, making it an interesting afternoon. However, we will work to put ourselves in the best position possible to capitalise on our grid positions and start the second half of the season with a pleasing result.”