England run in 16 tries in record-breaking hammering of Wales

England outclassed Wales for the second year in succession with a crushing 82-0 victory in a rugby league international at Headingley.

Twelve months after scoring 11 tries in a 60-rout at the same venue, Stuart Barrow’s side produced an even more ruthless display with 16 tries and nine conversions by scrum-half Isabel Rowe on her 18th birthday.

Las Vegas

It means England have now won their last four matches by an aggregate score of 248-0 as they prepare to face world champions Australia in Las Vegas in March.

Winger Anna Davies set a new England record with five tries, with the total of 82 points also surpassing the previous best of 72 set against Russia and Brazil.

Huddersfield full-back Amelia Brown and St Helens centre Erin Stott both marked their first international appearances with tries, former winger Brown utilising her pace to grab a hat-trick as an exhausted Wales side crumbled in the latter stages.

One-way traffic

Barrow had expected a tougher test after Wales qualified for the 2026 World Cup under head coach Tom Brindle, but it was almost entirely one-way traffic from the moment captain Jodie Cunningham set up Olivia Wood to crash over from close range in the fifth minute.

Davies collected a grubber kick from Rowe to claim her first try on 12 minutes before the influential Rowe set up Paige Travis to score under the posts, leaving Rowe with the easiest of conversions.

Travis and Davies both scored their second tries before Wales thought they had got on the scoresheet in the 29th minute, only for the video referee to confirm that Jasmine Gibbons had a foot in touch before she was able to get the ball down in the corner.

England quickly worked their way to the other end of the pitch and Eboni Partington finished off a sweeping move in the corner before Davies completed a first-half hat-trick to make it 34-0 at the interval.

Unfortunately for Wales there was no let-up in the second half as Brown and Stott scored their debut tries either side of a fourth for Davies, with hooker Katie Mottershead coming off the bench to get in on the act with a superb solo effort.

A fifth try from Davies, again set up by Amy Hardcastle, was followed by further scores from Brown, Hollie-Mae Dodd and Partington, who saved the best until last with a stunning score from 70 metres out.