ROCKY CLARK
THE National Grid will surely have got a surge when hundreds of thousands of people put their kettles on early doors, to settle into the culmination of a fantastic tournament. The rapidly growing number of fans of women's rugby were ready for what promised to be an absolute humdinger of a match.
We were promised drama, tension and to expect the unexpected, and my goodness, we got that in spades. We all wanted it to be nail-biting climax of the tournament and it did not disappoint as the drama unfolded in front of a sell-out 42,000 crowd at Eden Park.
England, clear favourites went up 12-0, but the game turned on a knife edge when winger Lydia Thompson got red carded in the 17th minute for a head-onhead collision with Portia Woodman. Woodman went off with concussion and England had to change their tactics to still be competitive. England relied heavily on breakdown disruption and a ‘jam' defence to get up in the faces of the Black Ferns and not let them get the ball wide to their danger women.
England's set piece dominance was crucial to keep the scoreboard ticking over with three tries from the monstrous maul before half-time. Amy Cokayne had an armchair ride, to score a hat trick by the 54th minute to keep England's world cup dreams alive. It wasn't all one sided though on the maul front, New Zealand scored two of their own.
England powerhouse, Marlie Packer was the star for England with constant disruption of New Zealand's breakdown and being relentless in defence, sealed off with a try of her own.
Going into the game we knew we were going to see a contrast of playing styles from each of them. England's maul, dominant defensive effort and disruption of the breakdown versus New Zealand's fast paced, high tempo offloading game meant that the Southern hemisphere and the Northern hemisphere of rugby were to collide.
Interestingly New Zealand played England at their own game with tries from the maul, but the extra player they had in attack proved vital in a brace of tries by replacement Ayesha Leti-l'iga. New Zealand's style of play comes with its risks and rewards, and it was England tactics to force breakdowns to happen, they wanted to disrupt New Zealand ball and therefore the speed of attack. Kendra Cocksedge, New Zealand's scrum half, played the perfect general, getting her forwards playing at a high tempo to suck in the already narrow English defenders. England's attack was more of a ‘stick it up the jumper' style of play to keep possession and break down the Black Ferns' defence. They waited patiently until New Zealand gave away a penalty then it was rewarded with the relentless driven maul that was so hard to defend. Surprisingly it wasn't until the 70th minute that New Zealand started to compete in the air which stopped England having a free ride at the maul train, a tactic I feel they should of done earlier.
Head coach Simon Middleton has been no stranger to controversy in selection after he left out scrum-half Natasha Hunt before leaving England. Many were worried that decision would cost him when starting scrum-half Leanne Infante was ruled out on the morning of the game and young Lucy Packer came into the half back position for her ninth cap. He never imagined in his wildest of dreams he would be down to 14, so he made the decision to take off captain Sarah Hunter at half-time to bring on Poppy Cleall who had clearly been earmarked to make a nuisance of herself at the ruck. This decision proved fair as the speed of the Black Ferns ball was slowed down to allow England to space out to defend.
“We must capitalise on this momentum and recruit more people into the sport”
The game was in the balance at 34-31 and it looked like England were going to pinch it in the dying seconds of the match when they got a maul five metres from the New Zealand line. A knock on saw the hopes and dreams of the Red Roses, and their army of fans, slashed as the home crowd erupted when a disrupted catch from Abbie Ward meant the final whistle blew.
Despite the heartbreak for England and their 30-game winning streak coming to an end, hats off to New Zealand who found a way to in and become World Champions for the sixth time.
The real winner, however, is rugby. The game is going to change for ever and it's down to the likes of those involved who can take credit for the showcase that was put on over the last six weeks.
England's professionalism has forced other nations to catch up and make their teams professional as well as the incredible media coverage and stars who have blossomed over the tournament. You only have to look as far to the local rugby clubs with the influx of young girls wanting to try out the beautiful game. In what has been one of the most eagerly anticipated sporting championships in the world, the World Cup provided the platform for the game to springboard to the next level of support and growth. Despite the unfavourable kick off times around the world, the game drew in a record 140,000 through the turnstiles over the period of the tournament. Momentum and support grew throughout England as the competition unfolded.
If my diary is anything to go by in the last few weeks, the media demand and interest in the latter stages of the game has gone through the roof. We must capitalise on this momentum and keep banging the drum, recruiting more people into the sport – both spectators and players. We need to provide opportunity both for watching on mainstream media, and taking part at the hundreds of clubs across the country.
The difference between this world cup and the last one is night and day. The army of passionate Red Rose supporters either making the 24 hour-plus journey to get to New Zealand, or the dedicated fans at home setting their alarms at the crack of dawn to support their heroines, is unprecedented.
Watch parties and media coverage from all the outlets has shown just how far the game has come. Fans only have to wait three years for the next world cup as the next cycle takes place for the 2025 World Cup in England gets underway.
