Black Ferns defeat brave Springboks women
New Zealand 46 vs 17 South Africa
This game was the definition of " a game of two halves". In the first, South Africa dominated both possession (81%), and territory (68%). Their tactics were brilliant but clearly understandable. South Africa looked to use their heavy pack to power through the middle of New Zealand as often as possible, passing 52-fewer times than New Zealand despite having 65% of the overall possession. The first half was best encapsulated by South Africa's 15-player lineout drives in which every Springbok on the pitch joined the maul immediately. These were successful and resulted in more penalties which allowed South Africa to keep New Zealand stuck near their own line. However, for all of South Africa's dominance, New Zealand were able to be on par at the break and actually led until South Africa equalised with the clock in the red after 40 minutes. They were largely responsible for their own downfall in that regard and practically handed New Zealand 2 tries in their own in-goal area.
The second half provided a rude wake-up call for South Africa as New Zealand scored 4 tries in the first 15 minutes of the half. Braxton Sorensen-McGee starred once again, scoring twice and converting 2 other tries to end the game with 14 points. South Africa had clearly planned to play the first half that they did but with the intention of continuing the momentum by bringing 7 forwards on from the bench. That didn't happen, and South Africa were only able to respond in the 75th minute when the game was already over.
New Zealand come away from this game having been massively challenged but with a defence that held up once again under severe pressure. The game against Canada on Friday night is a genuine 50/50 and it's difficult to tell how enthused Canada will be by these performances from the Black Ferns.
Despite going out, South Africa will leave this tournament overjoyed with their performance and an optimistic view of the future. Money has already started to be invested into the team and more is sure to come after this historic quarter-final appearance. As the side develops, questions will have to be asked about how South Africa can play a good level of competition at both club, and international levels. Before this weekend, these teams had not played for 12 years. That has to change. Whatever happens from here, the women's game looks to be gaining massive support across South Africa which means that a new side could soon take a seat the top table of women's rugby.
Canada make statement against underwhelming Wallaroos
Canada 46 vs 5 Australia
After a great game in Exeter, fans in Bristol would have been looking forward to what promised to be another good game of rugby. In the first 10 minutes, the game looked to be delivering. After that, Canada continued to impress but Australia faltered. Desiree Miller scored in the 6th minute in reply to a Hogan-Rochester score in the 2nd minute to level the game at 5 -5. That was as good as it got for the Aussies. Canada quickly took control and scored 3 more tries before even a quarter of the game had been played. Canada led 31-5 at the break and already had the game won before Australia could regather themselves.
The second half was a little different; Australia shaded territory and possession but couldn't make it count. Canada scored 2 more tries, converted 1 and scored a penalty to win the second half 15-0. The ultimate issue for Australia was an inability to make anything from their territory, mainly due to a lacklustre lineout. Australia only won 60% of their lineouts, winning 6 and losing 4. Against a side as good as Canada, Australia would have had to have been firing on all cylinders but that didn't happen. There is reason to be positive for Australia moving forward and they'll now look to build towards hosting the next World Cup in 2029.
As for Canada, they will now take on New Zealand in a blockbuster semi-final. They have been labelled the "dark horses" of this tournament by some of the British media but that feel disrespectful given their ranking. On current form, Canada are arguably the favourites against New Zealand having won and drawn their previous 2 matches.
France scrape past unlucky Ireland amid biting controversy
France 18 vs 13 Ireland
This was, as the scoreline suggests, the game of the weekend. Sandy Park was besieged by wind and rain in the first half which meant that Dannah O'Brien dominated proceedings with her distance kicking that gave Ireland total dominance in the territorial contest - particularly in the first half. Ireland played with the wind in their favour in the first half and were perfectly suited to the conditions, earning 81% of the territory and 68% of the possession. However, despite their dominance and 2 yellow cards, Ireland were only able to lead 13-0 at the halfway stage. The real turning point of the game came in the last moment of a gargantuan first half when Ireland racked up over 30 phases in the French 22 against a team that had its captain sin-binned and failed to score. Unfortunately for Ireland, their inability to get over the try line would continue for the remainder of the game.
The second half was a different story to the first. Feleu returned to the pitch and helped France to gain a foothold in the game with a try in the 59th minute to add to a 47th minute penalty which got France to within a score of Ireland who then had salt poured into their wounds when Grace Moore was yellow-carded. Despite that, Ireland worked their way down the field, and looked to be back on top, before conceding a turnover.France then immediately took advantage of it by moving the ball wide to Grisez, on the right wing, who scored a great try against a tiring defence. Bourgeois then slotted another penalty to give France an 18-13 lead with 5 minutes to go. Ireland then got themselves back down the field which led to Alexandra Chambon being given a yellow card for a deliberate knock on. This then resulted in a lineout, from which Ireland attacked until the game was stopped due to an injury to Aoife Wafer. Ireland then had another lineout, which they then lost, thus ending the game.
It also has to be mentioned that this game could have been very different if the referee and TMO had actually done their job early in the second half, when Aoife Wafer claimed to have been bitten by Axelle Berthoumieu. If the apparent bite marks weren't convincing enough, the replays surely should have been enough to cause the French player to be sent off. Instead, nothing happened. Berthoumieu will now likely be suspended for the remainder of the World Cup, and probably several more weeks, but that won't make a devastated Irish team feel any better about their exit from the World Cup.
Ireland were, understandably, desolate after the game. However, there are plenty of positives to take away from the tournament for a team that is still on an upwards trajectory. Dannah O'Brien will have learned an awful lot from this World Cup and is already an amazing player. Aoife Wafer was only able to play this game after being injured in the build up to this tournament. However, as was pointed out on the BBC commentary, she managed to fit four games worth of output into this quarter-final. Wafer is just 22-years-old and is already world-class. She will be part of the spine of this team going forward and will only get better as she gains more experience. She is probably the best jackler in the women's game and, as this game proved, even being bitten isn't enough to stop her winning a turnover for her team.
France will now play England in a tantalising encounter at Ashton Gate. Given the incident in this game, could this be the first time Irish fans support England? I wouldn't bet on it. Perhaps a more neutral attitude of hoping that both teams lose will be the general sentiment amongst those in green. I expect that Canada will be the favourite amongst those fans without a country in the final four.
England march on whilst Scotland walk into the unknown
England 40 vs 8
The finale of the quarter-final round was contested by two familiar foes - England and Scotland. The record between these teams is remarkably one-sided in favour of those south of the border. That pattern continued on Sunday. The game started very differently, however, as Scotland put England under immediate pressure. England's defence weathered the storm and the kicking of Holly Aitchison kept Scotland at bay. Scotland were able to take the lead through a penalty from Helen Nelson but things got worse from there. England would go on to score 4 tries in the first half to lead 26-3 and practically end the game.
The second half was closer and England were only able to score 2 more tries. Scotland kept things close before Rhona Lloyd scored with the clock in the red. A lot of the statistics in this game were quite even, the most stark difference was in the scrum.Scotland were only able to win half of their own scrums in a game defined by Scotland's inability to gain physical parity with the hosts.
There isn't much to talk about from this game and the much more relevant stories pertaining to these teams will unfold over the coming weeks. For England, this win will be meaningless if they do not go on to win the World Cup as a whole. Scotland face a very different challenge.
The most poignant moment of the game was the departure of Jade Konkel early in the 2nd half. The Harlequins no.8 is retiring after this World Cup at just 31-years-old. She said herself after the game that she has more to give but, like many of her teammates, she wasn't offered a contract by the SRU. Scotland's head coach, Bryan Easson, will also be departing and it'a unclear if that decision was as mutual as the Scottish Rugby Union would like it to appear to be. The criticism of the SRU was echoed by Scotland's captain, Rachel McLachlan, who told BBC Sport that the players just want to be supported. These sentiments were also expressed by Evie Gallagher who simply asked for the players to be respected. These seem like completely reasonable statements, but clearly the SRU is failing (or not trying) to give the players what they are asking for. The SRU has said that this is a period of transition, but it's unclear what that transition will lead to and fans will be waiting to see if more players are going to follow Jade Konkel's example in the mean time.
Add comment
Comments