England have secured their place in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final after defeating Australia with a hard-fought 15-0 victory last night.
In a semi final that saw two traditional sporting rivals in a head to head grudge match, the hosts England and Australia played to lively and enthusiastic support from their fans across the Twickenham Stoop.
Desperate to avoid more World Cup heartache at the hands of the Wallaroos, England put up a strong fight, with the first try of the game secured by captain Catherine Spencer.
Number 8 Spencer, who only just made the line following a fierce five metre scrum, put the first points on the board after only seven minutes and a conversion from fly-half Katie McLean secured the 7-0 lead.
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Australia, who beat England in the RWC Sevens quarter finals last year on their way to becoming the first women’s champions, struggled to make it out of their own half throughout the opening stages, with McLean kicking tactically to force the Wallaroos back.
With both teams kicking for territory the tension was clear, and although England enjoyed two good breaks through wing Fi Pocock, an immense try-saving tackle from wing Nicole Beck stopped her in her tracks.
The forceful tackle saw Pocock replaced by Michaela Staniford, putting doubts over her appearance for Sunday’s final.
However, England remained focused, with scrum-half Amy Turner lending full-back Danielle Waterman just enough room to score on the blindside after a patient build up. 12-0 after 23 minutes secured a promising start for the hosts.
Australia bit back though, as they tested the hosts’ defence with a series of strong attacking moves. A hit by flanker Maggie Alphonsi on Australia’s captain Cheryl Soon after more than a dozen phases of play saw the ball turned over leading to a relieving kick away by McLean.
With half time fast approaching England pushed on through with Turner almost scoring a try following a powerful catch and drive, but the ball came loose before touch down leaving the half time score at 12-0.
A slightly scrappy start to the second half with a number of handling errors on both sides prevented any further addition to the score in the opening minutes.
After holding off the hosts for a period, Australia’s work in defence seemed to inspire the team as they began to work their way back into the game.
As Australia started to threaten, a slight air of anxiety crept around the Stoop with Waterman having to put in a tremendous defensive tackle to half the flying Beck.
England’s chances of turning the tide of pressure seemed to be halted following a number of replacements to key players in key positions, with play becoming seemingly more disjointed following the changes.
The sin-binning of England’s flanker Heather Fisher on 68 minutes gave the visitors further hope, but the team of 14 hung on to clinch a last minute penalty from acting fly-half Alice Richardson on Fisher’s return.
The final score line of 15-0 was enough to secure England a place in the final this coming Sunday, with today’s match leaving plenty for them to think about ahead of their clash with defending champions New Zealand.
Speaking after the match, England flanker, Maggie Alphonsi, said: “I don’t think I can ever question their effort, they have always given everything they have got and possibly tonight we got pretty close but in fairness the English defended very well and looked after that start they got in the second half.
“I did say at half time to be 12-0 down without the ball basically for probably 35 minutes was encouraging and certainly the fact that if we could get ball we would do ok. We looked pretty good for a while there with the ball but we just couldn’t get that try.”
Australia captain, Cheryl Soon, commented: “It was a very tough day at the office, we did the best that we could but it just wasn’t enough in the end. We weren’t going to go down without a fight.
“I thought our defence was absolutely courageous – we held them out. I don’t think the scoreline was an indication of how the game actually went. It could have been a lot higher, but that just shows how courageous we are in our defence. We’re Aussie battlers and we never give up.”
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Jessica Whittington, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
Image credit: rugbymatters.net
