A View on the World Cup Committee’s Decision
It was strange to find Annick Hayraud, France’s general manager, expressing surprise at World Rugby’s decision to recommend a delay to the World Cup (https://www.ffr.fr/actualites/xv-de-france-feminin/annick-hayraud-etre-creatif-avec-des-objectifs-differents). Disappointment yes; frustration yes; but not surprise.
By nature an optimist, she always thought the RWC would go ahead.
Had she really thought through the obstacles placed in its path? Did she think all the qualifying matches could be completed in good time, that every team would have sufficient scope to come together to practise for the biggest challenge they would face in their sporting lives, that Auckland would be able to accommodate all the players and support staff under current restrictions? Would all twelve teams competing have met the same obstacles along their path to the peak?
The official decision lists six reasons for postponement. In my view all six had been evident way back and the passage of time would not have alleviated the problems. The unwelcome news should have come much sooner.
Dyddgu Hywel is another prominent rugby woman to voice her complaints about the status quo. The men’s and women’s sectors seem to follow two quite different paths. She fully accepts the Covid-19 situation, but then asks how the former can carry on almost undisturbed, while the latter is so grievously affected.
The short answer has to be the one that has bugged the game of rugby since 1995, the pro-amateur split. With a tournament involving 360 women, three-quarters of whom are amateur, the virus was bound to be the defining feature. And that excludes all the teams who will be excluded once the qualifiers are eventually decided.
Hardly one government is minded to support the women’s game beyond funding for the Olympics. Each union has to find its own method of supporting its players, but in a pandemic this doesn’t stretch very far.
I for one could see little chance of events following on smoothly. WR had set up a more complex schedule of matches than ever before, to provide more nations with the chance of representation at the highest level. That automatically involved far more qualifying fixtures, leading to inter-continental clashes that would require long journeys and expensive logistics.
It would be fascinating to know how things would have turned out without the plague. How would players have found release from their day jobs to make a journey of say 10,000 miles for one match? Would WR have underwritten those costs?
We will find out as soon as the schedule can pick up again. The name of the game is Colombia v Kenya! When and where will they meet?
The organising committee reached its conclusion – to follow the recommendation of WR – much later than it should have done. The closer we drew to the diary-date, the harder it was to accept a year’s postponement.
In the meantime administrators all over the world are puzzling over the next few months; how to pick up the reins again; where to find worthwhile opponents and prepare their squads accordingly. Hayraud will be discussing possible outlines with her staff and her captain.
England’s Path
The Red Roses like everyone else around the world have had to reset their compasses. The future opens up: two more Six Nations (this year’s severely truncated), and the possibility of two summer campaigns and one autumn before the RWC.
First, Simon Middleton has to assess the new situation: how large a squad for just three matches of the 6N? Second, there will be fewer chances to try out new players, new combinations; hence the need to fill the rest of the year with more matches. His long-term target remains the RWC.
If all the regulars were fit, he would hardly need to look beyond the current crop of players. But that isn’t his way. He and his fellow selectors are always on the look-out for new talent. It can never be said of him that it’s harder for a player to be dropped than to gain a first cap. And sadly the list of injured players refuses to shorten.
The first test against Scotland may yet see some unexpected names appearing on the team-sheet. For example, both Mo Hunt and Claudia Macdonald are currently injured. Who is the fourth choice scrum-half to support Leanne Riley? Flo Robinson (Exeter) is a possibility. She is another product of Pulborough RFC, alongside a certain Breach J.
Prop is another area where England is suffering severe shortages, no Laura Keates, no Vickii Cornborough, no Sarah Bern, no Hannah Botterman in recent Prem 15s rounds.
As luck would have it England sit out the third weekend of the 6N, which gives them a fortnight to recover for a probable encounter with France. Les Bleues have suffered some harsh experiences over the last two years; losing games in the 79th and 81st minutes can knock the stuffing out of you. But at least it reminds them that the Red Roses are distinctly vulnerable.
If the virus slowly releases its grip, who knows, the Red Roses might be able to fly out for a series of challenging matches in the New World or even down under. If they are restricted to Europe, then the number of sides able to give them a real challenge reduces. It’s open to question how often they should play France. Familiarity breeds contempt, they say.
The Black Ferns have been equally fortunate. Though they have been deprived of test matches, they have enjoyed a full programme of inter-provincials in the Farah Palmer Cup. As with the English, it sets them way ahead of most of their prospective opponents next year.
That inequality must have come first in the organising committee’s reasons for postponement.
