The She Devils opened their account with a game against the supposed minnows of the tournament, the inexperienced and physically non-imposing Shangrao Tornadoes.
High expectations for the day led to a lot of nerves in the Devils camp and captain Jeannie Ivanov did nothing to steady them from the first kick off when she knocked on from the catch, giving Shangrao a penalty and coach Ben an excuse for the first fine of the weekend. Luckily Fiona Bolye soon contributed a second (fine) when she burst clean through from half way only to fumble the ball under pressure and knock on herself.
Luckily the Devils ship was steadied by old hands Naomi Bridges, Bridget Madell and Jill Glover, and once they had secured control of possession the Devils went on to exploit their superior size (read: weight) and experience (read: age).
Fiona Boyle went into the game like the Tazmanian Devil and was rewarded with 4 powerful tries, with debutant Jen De Rose chipping in a fourth followed by Jeannie Ivanov and Jill Glover.
The Shangrao outfit continued to battle throughout but their kicking strategy backfired due to the Devils superior pace and, although not a vintage performance, the Devils were able to steady their nerves with an easy opener and a large scoreline.
Tries: Boyle (4), Ivanov (1), Glover (1), De Rose (1)
Conversions: Madell (4/6)