Worcester Valkyries prop Rochelle Clark became the most capped player in women’s international rugby but England were beaten 25-20 by New Zealand at The Stoop today.
Clark overtook Scotland’s Donna Kennedy’s record of 115 caps when she came on as a second half replacement.
But England threw away a 17-7 lead and, despite scoring three tries, the Red Roses were unable to hold off the Black Ferns with scrum-half Kendra Cocksedge scoring 20 points including two winning penalties in the final five minutes.
England made a convincing start when Fiona Pocock went over in the corner in the second minute to score her 20th try for England.
England were on top for much of the first period but they went in at half-time 5-7 down after Renee Wickliffe’s try just before the break and a successful conversion from Cocksedge, who was later awarded player of the match.
England rebuilt at half-time and scored two tries in the space of two minutes through Harriet Millar-Mills and Lydia Thompson, and after Katy Mclean’s conversion the home side found themselves 10 points in front.
However the Black Ferns were not to be outdone and Cocksedge scored two tries in six minutes after the hour mark, successfully converting the second to put her team 19-17 ahead with 14 minutes remaining.
The Red Roses refused to give in and Emily Scarratt knocked over a penalty with seven minutes left to go a single point ahead but Cocksedge kicked two penalties of her own in the closing stages to seal the win.
Head Coach Simon Middleton said: “We are hugely disappointed to lose the game having done enough to win. There were many positives at times but we still have plenty to work on.
“We created enough opportunities to win but we didn’t for a number of reasons and we compounded our errors with penalties and we just didn’t manage our game well enough. At times we were outstanding but you’ve got to be consistent against sides like this.”