Red Roses put defeats behind them by crushing USA to extend 35-year streak

Claudia Moloney-MacDonald runs in four tries

England have seen a lot of records crumble around them in this WXV Global Series but the world champions were not going to let a 35-year winning streak go against the USA. The last time the Eagles claimed a victory over the Red Roses was in the 1991 Rugby World Cup and since then England have won all 22 matches they have played. The Red Roses got back to winning ways and while their recent losses to Canada displayed the top sides had caught up with the world No 1 team, Friday’s outing against the USA evidenced that outside of the top three there is still a gap to be closed.

The USA headed into the match in good form with five consecutive wins, including victories over Wales and Ireland, and their No 8 Freda Tafuna has been one of the standouts across all of the teams during the WXV. However, England were able to contain the bright spark and despite good performances from Alev Kelter and Hope Rogers the hosts did not have enough firepower to extinguish England.

There were two key elements to England’s win: Claudia Moloney-MacDonald and a strong second half performance from the front row pack. The wing Moloney-MacDonald may have been dropped from the matchday 23 against Canada last time out but she responded perfectly with an incredible four tries. It will be the exact retort the head coach, John Mitchell, would have wanted and alongside the Exeter Chiefs star stepping up to the plate, breaks and huge hits by players like Maud Muir gave the visitors the extra few percentages they needed.

It was far from a polished performance by England though. Wasted chances against Canada contributed to both defeats and an error-strewn attack was on display again in the first half on Friday. The Red Roses had some great plays, namely Moloney-MacDonald’s first try, but they could have punished the USA more had it not been for knock-ons and rogue passes.

The difference not only came on the scoreboard with the 25,000-capacity stadium in New Jersey looking rather empty. The official attendance was not announced but many stands had no fans which wasn’t helped with a 5pm kick-off local time. A game of this magnitude deserves a bigger audience than the one that showed up.

The last time these two nations played one another was in the opener of the Rugby World Cup last year and like in that game, which the Red Roses won 69-7, England got the scoreboard ticking early on. It was less than five minutes before Moloney-MacDonald acrobatically finished and she added another shortly after.

The USA’s Rogers, who holds the cap record for her country, got a try back for the hosts and in doing so closed in on the American women’s all-time points record with the score bringing her just four points away. Momentum swung in the USA’s direction but England were the next to score through the captain Meg Jones, who has started every game in 2026 for her country.

England held a marginal 17-7 lead at the break which was extended by Moloney-MacDonald securing her third and fourth tries. The USA needed a powerful punch to stop the game getting away from them and it was supplied by Kelter who put in a huge hit on Jones. Despite it producing momentum for the world No 6 side, it was England who were over through Mia Venner. The Gloucester-Hartpury wing has been impressive over her two starts in this away leg of WXV and she will give Mitchell a selection headache in 2027 if she continues in her current form.

The loss will leave a sour taste for the USA, not just because the replacement hooker Bryony Field, Maddie Feaunati and Sadia Kabeya turned a win into a thumping victory but the team’s co-captain Georgie Perris-Redding hobbled off with injury.

This game was both teams last match of the calendar year and so the USA will have to wait to bounce back from this loss at the 2027 Pacific Four tournament. For England, they have started a new unbeaten streak which they will want to add to when they next play in the Women’s Six Nations, starting in April.