The England captain, Sarah Hunter, scored three tries as the defending champions defeated Italy 42-7 in their Women’s Six Nations opener in Reggio Emilia.
After the teams went in at half-time at 7-7, the Italians having replied to Sarah Bern’s early try through a Valentina Ruzza effort, England powered to a bonus-point victory by crossing six more times.
As well as Hunter’s hat-trick, Poppy Cleall, Abigail Dow and Ellie Kildunne also crossed. Katy Daley-Mclean, who converted two of the seven tries, had put England back in front with a penalty.
Hunter’s first try took her to 100 points for England while her third came from the last move of the match. In England’s second match of the tournament they will host Wales next Saturday.
Simon Middleton, the head coach, praised England’s second-half performance and said it had been the result of a more patient approach in the build-up.
“We changed it at half-time and it didn’t take a lot. It was just getting the team to understand that everything going wrong was our doing and we just had to look after the ball better, create continuity to break up their defence a little bit,” he said. “Then just have a bit more patience and be more clinical in their 22 when we got there.
“And we did. We were fantastic in the second half. There are some really good lessons in there for us as a team and individuals.”
Hunter’s fellow back-row Cleall scored England’s third try in a strong individual performance. “Poppy has been outstanding for Sarries all year and she got stronger as the game went on,” said Middleton. “She is a great ball-carrier and that is a major part of her role. She showed that today; she was relentless.”