There used to be only two certainties- death and taxes, we can now add another one to that exclusive list-Red Rose victories.

For the 36th time in a row, England women left the field having secured a comprehensive win.

Wales were the bindweed clinging to the blossoming red blooms, but England possessed far too many thorns to be hampered in yet another big scoreline at Ashton Gate.

Yesterday was always going to be a Severn Bridge too far for a Wales side who have forgotten that winning feeling 

Bristol is approximately 12 miles from the Welsh border at the narrowest part across the Severn estuary, despite the closeness this was very definitely a home game for the English fans who dominated the sun-drenched 26,247 crowd.

They did not have to wait long to celebrate their first try. Maddie Feaunati took just 6 minutes to cross the whitewash, and it looked like England would pull away when Millie David scored a try 13 minutes into her international debut it looked like England would pull away.

Wales responded well and their two first half tries along with Kiera Bevan orchestrating matters at scrum-half ensured at least a competitive contest.

A half-time score of 29-12 was not as bad as many had feared, but thirty-three Red Roses points in the second half made it yet another comfortable win for the women in white.

In fairness to Wales, they didn’t give up, and two tries in the last seven minutes gave them the most unlikely and unexpected of bonus points.

It may seem crass to feel positive about a 62-24 defeat, but this was a massive improvement from Wales. There was at last some imagination and variety in attack and whatever else they lacked there was heart and commitment in spades.

The back line still looks a little clunky with their try scoring threats mainly coming from the pack, but there is definitely something to build on here.

As for the Red Roses, we are running out of superlatives for a team who are finding their toughest opponents at their own training sessions.

England have now won 37 consecutive Six Nations matches. Their last defeat came against France in 2018. 

This year alone they’ve scored 179 points (27 tries) despite missing more than a dozen players because of injury, pregnancy or retirement, 

The Red Roses continue to bloom, but Wales are beginning to show some green shoots of recovery.