John Mitchell's England end WXV season on a high
MATCH REPORT: England bounced back from back-to-back defeats against Canada with a comfortable and controlled victory over the USA at Sports Illustrated Stadium in the opening match of the final round of the WXV Global Series 2026.
Claudia Moloney-MacDonald scored four as England returned to winning ways after successive defeats for the first time since 2016.
The home side – unbeaten in their first five WXV Global Series outings this year – were looking for their second win over the world champions, 35 years after their first in the 1991 Women’s Rugby World Cup final.
But any hopes they had of extending the Red Roses’ losing streak were quickly extinguished as the visitors took charge.
Player of the match Moloney-MacDonald scored twice in the same corner in the opening 13 minutes, and captain Meg Jones dotted down following full-back Emma Sing’s burst to the line with half-an-hour on the clock, as the Red Roses played percentage rugby almost perfectly.
But they didn’t have things entirely their own way in the first 40. A determined USA side asked a number of defensive questions. Obstruction at a line-out denied Kathryn Treder a maul try at the end of the opening quarter.
And experienced prop Hope Rogers moved to within four of USA’s points record when she powered over from close range five minutes later.
Moloney-MacDonald’s third came three minutes after the change of ends, and her fourth followed a powerful carry from Sadia Kabeya and a whipped skip pass from Jones before the clock had ticked past 50 minutes as England went through the gears.
Mia Venner ran in a well-worked score on the hour to add her name to the scoreboard. Replacement hooker Bryony Field added England’s seventh, peeling off the back of a lineout maul in the 69th minute, shortly after the USA’s replacement prop Mona Lisa Tupou was sin-binned.
Maddie Feaunati burst clear three minutes later for their eighth. And Kabeya powered over as England swept forward three minutes from time to take them past 50, moments after a forward pass from Hannah Botterman had denied fellow prop Sarah Bern.
But the USA had the final word, as Kate Zackary dove over with the clock in the red after a penalty into the corner.
The scorers:
For USA:
Tries: Hope Rogers, Kate Zackary
Con: Annabella Vogel
For England:
Tries: Claudia Moloney Macdonald 4, Megan Jones, Mia Venner, Bryony Field, Maddie Feaunati, Sadia Kabeya
Cons: Emma Sing 2, Zoe Harrison 3
