'We had to change after Vegas' - but England suffer another humbling
A new-look England side's hopes of getting closer to Australia were dashed as the ruthless defending champions dismantled them at the Women's Rugby League World Cup.
In the wake of England's devastating 90-4 defeat to Australia in their Las Vegas World Cup match in March 2025, the team's new-look squad arrived in Perth with the intention of closing the gap on the world champions. After a promising 70-6 victory over Wales, England's women were once again humbled by Australia in a 78-0 drubbing.
Despite head coach Stuart Barrow's insistence that this experience differed from the previous debacle, the scoreline left little room for optimism. Barrow acknowledged that the team had made significant changes, emphasizing the development of young talent through the DiSE programme, but highlighted the stark contrast in experience between England's squad and Australia's seasoned professionals.
With an average age of nearly 28, Australia's players possessed the speed, skill, and power that England struggled to match. While England's young players learned valuable lessons from the experience, Barrow emphasized that the team aimed to continue developing them in preparation for the 2030 World Cup.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Sport's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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