England have made a strong start to their 2002 World Cup campaign with an impressive 63-9 victory over Italy in the first round. The match was played in hot and sunny conditions this evening (6:30pm Spanish time) at the Cornella Ground in Barcelona, Spain.

England led 46-6 at halftime, after tries from centre Sue Day (3), wing Nicky Crawford (1), centre Assunta De Biase (2), scrumhalf Emma Mitchell (1) and wing Emily Feltham (1), with flyhalf Susie Appleby adding three conversions. Italian flyhalf Monica Zanetti kicked two penalties.

In the second half, two further England tries came from Day and one from Crawford - with Appleby converting Crawford’s effort. Italy’s Zanetti added another penalty goal to bring the final score to 63-9 to England.

England Head Coach Geoff Richards declared himself well satisfied with his team’s performance: "A really good start, especially in the first half. We fell away a bit in the second half, when we failed to control the ball as well, but I was very pleased with the set piece. It’s good to get the first game out of the way and there are now four days to prepare for the next one."

England captain Paula George gave credit to the Italians for a gutsy performance against a much higher-ranked team: "Italy were a lot more streetwise in the second half, spoilt a lot of our ball, and were harder to break down in defence. It was an enjoyable game."

England will now face Spain in the second round on Saturday, 18th May at 2:30pm Spanish time at the Cornella Ground.

5 -0 England try by no.13 Sue Day (2 mins)

12-0 England try by no.14 Nicky Crawford, converted by no.10 Susie Appleby (6 mins)

17-0 England try by no.12 Assunta De Biase (7 mins)

17-3 Spain penalty goal by no.10 Monica Zanetti (14 mins)

24-3 England try by no.13 Sue Day, converted by no.10 Susie Appleby (15 mins)

29-3 England try by no.12 Assunta De Biase (19 mins)

34-3 England try by no.9 Emma Mitchell (25 mins)

34-6 Spain penalty goal by no.10 Monica Zanetti (30 mins)

39-6 England try by no.11 Emily Feltham (31 mins)

46-6 England try by no.13 Sue Day, converted by no.10 Susie Appleby (38 mins)

51-6 England try by no.13 Sue Day (47 mins)

51-9 Spain penalty goal by no.10 Monica Zanetti (50 mins)

58-9 England try by no.14 Nicky Crawford, converted by no.10 Susie Appleby (62 mins)

63-9 England try by no.13 Sue Day (72 mins)

15. Paula George (Wasps) - Captain

14. Nicky Crawford (Worcester)

13. Sue Day (Wasps)

12. Assunta De Biase (Saracens)

11. Emily Feltham (Richmond)

10. Susie Appleby (Clifton)

9. Emma Mitchell (Saracens)

1. Maxine Edwards (Saracens)

2. Ann O’Flynn (Waterloo)

3. Vanessa Huxford (Wasps)

4. Jenny Sutton (Richmond)

5. Karen Henderson (Clifton)

6. Jenny Phillips (Saracens)

7. Helen Clayton (Saracens)

8. Gill Burns (Waterloo)

16. Amy Garnett (Saracens) - repl. A. O’Flynn (62 mins)

17. Teresa O’Reilly (Saracens) - repl. V. Huxford (40 mins)

18. Nicky Coffin (Richmond)- repl. H. Clayton (72 mins)

19. Claire Frost (Saracens) - repl. G. Burns (40 mins)

20. Shelley Rae (Wasps) - repl. E. Mitchell (50 mins)

21. Selena Rudge (Clifton) - repl. A. De Biase (62 mins)

22. Chris Diver (Richmond)- repl. P. George (72 mins)

15. Elena Bisetto

14. Veronica Schiavon

13. Silvia Pizatti

12. Silvia Perron

11. Daniela Gini

10. Monica Zanetti

9. Michela Tondonelli

1. Aadelina Corbanese

2. Licia Stefan

3. Maria Sanfilippo

4. Silvia Gaudino

5. Giola Michela Burato

6. Giuliano Carapanella

7. Paula Nacca

8. Elena Sartorato

16. Lisa Franceschin - repl. G.M. Burato (19 mins-blood, 40 mins)

17. Calerina Maschera

18. Francesca Gallina - repl. S. Gaudino (40 mins)

19. Elisabetta Toniolo - repl. E. Sartorato (50 mins)

20. Lisa Facchini - repl. M. Tondonelli (72 mins)

21. Erika Morri

22. Sabriuna Melis - repl. S. Perron (30 mins)

World Cup 2002 1^st Round Results Available:

Spain (62-0) Japan

New Zealand (113-0) Germany

Australia (30-0) Wales

USA (87-0) Netherlands

England (63-8) Italy

Canada (57-0) Ireland