The credibility of international women’s rugby league has taken a hit with the Jillaroos thrashing England as part of the Las Vegas extravaganza intended to showcase the sport to new audiences.
Australia raced the clock throughout the game as they converted a 38-0 half-time lead into a 90-4 flogging which included a whopping 17 tries against a hopelessly outclassed opposition line-up.
Star fullback Tamika Upton raced in five tries in the cakewalk wjhile Jess Sergis and Julia Robinson bagged three each.
Luckily for England, Jillaroos playmaker Tarryn Aiken only landed 11 of her 17 conversion attempts otherwise the Aussies would have cracked the century mark.
The Jillaroos managed six tries in the spcace of 13 minutes early in the second half as the mismatch turned ugly for the English side.
The win was briefly marred by a horror head-on collision from the first tackle after the break, leaving England prop Vicky Whitfield prone on the ground.
After taking the hit up from the kick off, Whitfield clashed heads with Jillaroos front-rower Sarah Togatuki and both reeled from the collision.
Togatuki was taken for the field with a concussion, while Whitfield was eventually taken off on a stretcher on the back of a medicab. The 30-year-old was taken to hospital for precautionary scans.
“She (Whitfield) was out for a very short time. She came around complaining of a headache and a sore neck,” said England coach Stuart Barrow.
“She’s gone to hospital for a scan…Just waiting for the results on that.”
Georgia Roche provided the only bright spot for England when she scored in the penultimate minute to stem the bleeding and at least avoid being held scoreless.
Australia’s third-biggest win of all time was also their largest victory margin over a tier-one nation.
The main question for the NRL is whether the Jillaroos’ walloping of England is the best advertisement for the women’s game in the US market.
With no fully-professional women’s rugby or NFL competition in America, the NRLW is viewed as a space where rugby league can make an impact.
But Australia’s win was overwhelmingly one-sided.
England conceded tries in four straight sets at different stages in both halves.
By contrast, Pacific Championship matches between Australia and New Zealand have been far more competitive in recent years, leaving the Kiwi Ferns as a potentially better opponent for the Jillaroos next year.
Women’s State of Origin is also viewed as a potential way to sell the game in the US, with last year’s three-game series a compelling contest.
Julia Robinson is tackled by Tamzin Renouf. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Australia’s players and coach Jess Skinner insisted the best way to help England was playing more matches, with an end-of-season Ashes already scheduled.
“It would be a great match up if we played the Ferns (in Vegas next year), we are always keen to play them,” Skinner said.
“But we are also grateful England came to the party and wanted to play here.
“This is a great platform for them to build the game in their country. And we are about that, women elevating women.
“We are proud of the performance we put up. We play our own game and we came to show on another stage why we are No.1 in the world. And the girls did that.”
Regardless, Australia were ruthless against the Lionesses.
Upton was in everything, putting Jakiya Whitfeld into a gap in the lead up to the Jillaroos’ first try before scoring three more herself in the opening half.
Isabelle Kelly was dominant at left centre, scoring twice and laying on a nice try for Upton when she swept out wide and passed back inside for her fullback.
Prop Shannon Mato ran close to 200 metres, while Olivia Kernick laid on two tries in the second row in her first Jillaroos game since her controversial axing last year.
with AAP