England roar back to beat Australia after rare half-time scare

England were rattled. Then they were ruthless.

England beat Australia 48-15 at CorpAcq Stadium on Saturday 12 September in the opening game of the WXV Global Series, turning a rare half-time deficit into a seven-try second-half rout, BBC Sport reported.

Australia led 10-5 at the break. It was the first time England had trailed at half-time since 2020.

Abi Burton scored England's only try of the first half — a try, grounding the ball over the opposition line, is worth five points. Australia answered through a try from Faliki Pohiva and a penalty kicked by Samantha Wood.

What followed was a complete shift in momentum. England scored seven tries after the restart to pull clear and stretch their record winning run to 39 matches.

May Campbell, Meg Jones, Bryony Field, Mia Venner and Sadia Kabeya all crossed, along with Lucy Packer and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald. Australia's second try came from Asoiva Karpani, but the visitors could not live with England's pace and power in the final half-hour.

What makes this stand out is the timing. England were playing their first game since winning a record eighth successive Women's Six Nations title in May. Head coach John Mitchell had warned about rust. For 40 minutes, he was right.

The WXV Global Series has replaced the WXV competition, which England won in both its editions as WXV1 in 2023 and 2024. The new tournament runs from 2026 to 2028 and features the world's top 12 teams. It is designed to provide more competitive Tests before the 2029 World Cup in Australia.

For fans, this means sterner examinations are coming fast. England face Canada at Sandy Park in Exeter next weekend. They then complete the home leg against New Zealand at Allianz Stadium on 26 September.

French referee Aurelie Groizeleau took charge of the opener in front of an England side that found its rhythm just in time.