RPA Appointment
Many congratulations to Vickii Cornborough on her appointment as the first female vice-chair of the RPA. Next stop…?
Recognising First Steps
In their games against the Black Ferns the French players each had the name of their first club added below their shirt number. A lovely gesture that might be followed up elsewhere.
In the Flesh or on the Screen?
If the attendance at the Stoop for the England-Canada match was a marginal disappointment (6,310), the viewing figure for BBC2’s live broadcast was the reverse, a whopping one million.
Though the stats fall some way short of absolute precision, this represents a steep climb from the 700k figure announced for the second New Zealand game a week earlier.
It helps to confirm the urgent need for free-to-air transmission of women’s sport, as the men’s version retreats ever further behind paywalls. The 6 Nations committee has not yet announced its plans (nor its schedule for that matter).
World Rankings
World Rugby has revealed the latest standings.
New Zealand have suffered a fall after three successive defeats. If they lose their last tour match they risk dropping out of the top two positions for the first time ever.
Conversely, France climb closer to the Maple Leafs. On current form you would expect them to win a straight contest easily.
The top 4:
England 96.26
New Zealand 90.11
Canada 88.15
France 86.90
Australia maintain fifth place by the cunning ploy of not playing any test matches.
Fifty Caps
A sure sign of the progress of top-class women’s rugby comes with a succession of 50th caps in recent days. Abbie Ward, Audrey Forlani, Laura Russell and Poppy Cleall have all reached this momentous mark. Congratulations!
Laura becomes only the fourth Canadian to achieve the honour. Her elder sister Kelly is one of that quartet.
Scotland
Scotland are the only home nation to make do with a single autumn test. They beat Japan at the DAM Stadium in Edinburgh. The 36-12 win looks comfortable, but they were aided by an early red card for Yuna Sato after a high tackle, and actually went behind 10-12 before pulling away.
They have vital business coming up in February in Dubai when they enter the repechage tournament to decide the very last place on the World Cup. Though they must be firm favourites, an extra game or two pre-Christmas would have offered them more opportunities to sort out areas of lingering doubt. .
International Singing Contest
There is feverish rivalry for the trophy of Best Singing Squad after a famous victory. England and France are fighting to a tight finish in this changing-room battle. Volume and dancing skills are the decider, not pitch control.
