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England women run in 12 tries against Italy / Photo: DARREN STAPLES - AFP
England women run in 12 tries against Italy
Four tries from Abby Dow and a hat-trick from Jess Breach fired England's women to a dominant 68-5 victory over Italy to return to the top of the Six Nations table.
A much-changed Red Roses were without retired former captain Sarah Hunter but were dominant in a 12-try rout.
"I'm absolutely thrilled," said England head coach Simon Middleton.
"We've got some great players, the quality of the passing and the lines we ran. We've had some great performances over the years but this is up there for sure."
Dow and Breach were the stars of the show as England extended their winning run in the Six Nations to 21 games.
There was one moment of joy for Italy as Sara Tounesi crossed for their first try against England since 2018.
But otherwise it was one-way traffic as tries from Dow and two each from Breach and Claudia MacDonald ensured the bonus point before half-time.
England's greater fitness thanks to professional contracts showed in the second half as they pulled away.
Breach and Dow completed their hat-tricks, while captain Marlie Packer also crossed twice.
"Super happy with that performance," said Parker.
"We want to play with more freedom. In the first half we weren't patient but we were brave. It is a really good brand we are trying to play at the moment."
A tougher test lies ahead for England in two weeks time when they travel to Wales, who also have a 100 percent record after two games.
P.Gallardo--HdM
