A Look at all four matches
England v Australia
These two nations have a certain history in the world of sport, but in rugby union they could hardly be more different. RU in Australia remains a minority interest in both the men’s and the women’s versions. The central effect is to leave Rugby Australia very short of funding. Once again the Wallaroos have shown their ability to overcome lack of resources and preparation as they fought their way through to the knock-out stages.
The teams haven’t met since 2017 when England won 53-10 in an International Series in New Zealand. There too the Wallaroos came into the contest under-cooked. Against expectations they dominated early possession and scored a fine try under the posts. The English had a quiet chat behind their line and came back to swamp the tiring opposition.
It’s likely to be a similar story in 2022. The Wallaroos have done their nation proud, winning two of three matches. They frightened the daylights out of Kiwi fans as they scored three tries in the curtain-raiser before the Black Ferns put their house in order. Result: a loss 41-17.
They had two more huge struggles against the Celtic nations, surviving only by a combined margin of eight points. Results: v Scotland 14-12; v Wales 13-7.
These last two games give us the clearest indication of the gaps between the two quarter-final rivals. England’s wins in the 6N against those same opponents were 58-5 and 57-5. Neither performance came close to ideal for them, but the results were never in doubt.
Who plays for England?
Though Middleton claimed long ago he knew nearly every member of his optimum team, his mind must have been clouded by outstanding performances from other players in the summer tests and this RWC.
Now that Abby Dow and Jess Breach have at last found a starting place in a test again, will Claudia Macdonald be switched back to No 9? In my view she should be. Lucy Packer had a thoroughly heartening game against the Boks, but she can’t possibly match Macdonald in pace and power.
Rosie Galligan and Tatyana Heard were two others to shine brightly, but their future paths are blocked by other even more gifted players. Their likeliest move is to the bench, another heavily contested area.
English Game-plans
Was it the original intention for the forwards to hog the ball in the South Africa match? It’s a wry comment on affairs that the BBC chose to place a close-up of Abby Dow’s try at the head of their match report. Yet it was the only one scored by the backs in a total of thirteen.
Dow and Breach have been prime targets for early ball in past seasons; that was not the case in Whangarei. Let’s hope it was all camouflage for future operations.
Italy v France
The Azzurre have done themselves and their nation proud by reaching the final stages of a World Cup for the first time. Despite a gaping disparity in support, they stand head and shoulders above their male equivalents in achievement.
Fate decides that they will face France once more in the quarters. That may well be their best option since they beat them at their last meeting. Whether they can repeat the deed is open to lingering doubt, but they are in with a shout.
The French still haven’t mastered the art of putting an opposition away ruthlessly; they remain too liable to unforced errors. Against a team they know well, they have the chance to iron out those faults. It would be a help if Pauline Bourdon could return to her outstanding form of three years ago and Caroline Drouin must nail all her field-kicks.
Wales v New Zealand
It’s no surprise that Wales have the smallest chance of squeezing through to the semis; they had to wait on other results to be sure of qualification. They struggled against Australia, conceding a record 20 penalties in the process. Their reward is to face the Black Ferns, who will be roared on by those fans who are not minded to stay at home and watch the All Blacks play Japan in Tokyo. The two matches overlap. Well done, NZR!
Canada v USA
Pool B looked the most evenly matched of the three, but the Maple Leafs dismissed their three opponents from their midst. Italy gave them the most trouble, going down by only ten points, But the USA proved less troublesome, 29-14.
Having met the Eagles 41 times out of a total of 150 tests, the Canadians might have hoped to engage with less familiar opponents, but current form makes another place in the semis highly likely.
The Eagles have players quite capable of turning a game, led by Hope Rogers up front, Kate Zackary, an exemplary No 8 and Alev Kelter, who may be restored to No 15 rather than the centre. All three have been known to ‘trample’ – currently the fashionable Kiwi word to describe their own favourite players – all over the opposition. But the Eagles lack the overall skill-range of their northern neighbours.
So the final four look like being Canada, England, France and New Zealand, an outcome we could all have predicted years ago. A great pity.
