England Women Under 20s lifted the Nations Cup crown on Saturday night after a 48-11 victory over hosts the USA in Santa Barbara with Hertfordshire flanker Hannah Gallagher once again in the thick of the action scoring a hat-trick, and finishing the tournament the leading scorer with eight tries. The Final victory also saw England cap a tremendous season which has seen England beat every other U20 team in the world - USA, Canada, South Africa, Wales, Scotland and France.
England U20s Head Coach Amanda Bennett said: “This is a fantastic result not just for all the U20s players but for England Rugby. Since the squad came together in October we have made significant improvements in our game and these have culminated in a great team performance and winning the 2011 Nations Cup.
“Against the USA, we were outstanding in the first 40 playing at the tempo and in the style we had planned. But after the break the USA were ferocious, coming out with a desire to restore pride and put points on the board. Their physical approach really tested us and it showed in the second-half score-line.
“We have beaten every team we have faced this year which is a wonderful achievement. The true test now for each of these players is not just to enjoy this moment but to build on this success and take their game to the next level.”
England started at a furious pace and put their marker down early on. England were already two tries up after 15 minutes when Hannah scored her first try, stepping her way through America’s defence to cross the line under the posts in an excellent display of power and pace. Amber Reed this time added the conversion.
Herts' hero's second came early in the second half when Charlotte Keane took a quick tap penalty before offloading to Hannah, who broke through the midfield and then America’s last line of defence to score her second. Then, from the final play of the game, Amber Reed ran hard to break America’s defensive line and although she was stopped just short of the try-line she managed to offload to Hannah who then completed her hat-trick. With Reed adding the conversion England took the final 48-11 victory and the Nations Cup crown.
A full video recording of the game can be found here.
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