How does Tier One look from here?
As we approach the excitng WXV, still five months away, let’s glance at how the nations qualified for Tier 1 are shaping up.
France
My headline refers of course to France, who had the mixed pleasure of playing away in front of the largest audience yet experienced by a women’s rugby team, but lost.
They came so close to a first defeat of local rivals England at the twelfth attempt. They won the second half of a thrilling game 33-5, but lost the first half 33-0.
The official view is that they are a new team building for the future. The co-coaches, Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz, may justly claim that they are taking the long view, introducing young players to the maelstrom of international rugby well in time for a World Cup in 2025.
The quality of that new generation can hardly be doubted. From the front row to the back-three, the strength of Frednch pathways has been demonstrated.
Youngsters like Elisa Riffoneau, Ambre Mwayembe, Assia Khalfaoui, Maëlle Picut, Alex Chambon, Charlotte Escudero, Carla Arbez and Mélissande Llorens are all quite capable of appearing in the knock-out stages of the RWC.
The traditional unknown – the destiny of France’s best Sevens players – becomes less important now. Of those who were unavailable for the 6 Nations, only Caroline Drouin would be sorely missed if she sticks to the World Series programme. Jessy Trémoulière has retired, so that leaves a gap at No 10 for an alternative to the talented Arbez.
Canada
The Maple Leafs still haven’t got a fully fledged programme in place. They know they will be facing the Black Ferns in Ottawa on 8 July, but Kevin Rouet has the ongoing problem of bringing his squad up to speed. Ideally he would like to offer them a sequence of warm-up matches against worthy opponents. That means travelling overseas. They don’t need yet another contest against the Eagles; they go on defeating them with some ease.
By contrast, when they met France in the RWC, they lost 36-0 in their most disappointing result of recent times.
Rugby Canada has arranged a series of regional competitions to take place across the nation as a prelude to the final selection. They run from 23 April to 10 June. The national squad will be announced on June 11 and the team will assemble from June 25 to July 15.
But those competitions are little more than final trials. RC really must offer a meaningful schedule of tests to let the Leafs’ talents be properly displayed.
USA
The same does for the Eagles, only they start from further back.They may rank only three places behind Canada (4th-7th), but that marks a considerable gap in standards. Their run of losses to Canada (eight at present) threatens to overtake France’s against England.
Sevens still holds the prime place in American affections, to the detriment of the 15’s squad’s fortunes.
Rob Cain stepped down from Head Coach, to be replaced on an interim basis by Rick Ashfield. That position remains a central issue to be resolved. It is five months since Ashfield’s appointment.
USA Rugby now has the Women’s Premier League (WPL), offering regular competition for seven clubs across twelve rounds. But standards vary from squad to squad, and the overall level will struggle to meet Ashfield’s hopes. Martha Daines, the High Performance Pathways Manager, has been busy arranging competitions across the country, but – as with the Maple Leafs – it is full- blown tests that are the essential ingredient for success at international level.
When we consider the quality of American players operating in England’s Premier 15s, we can see the potential available.
Australia
The Wallaroos are in a similar position to the Eagles. Sevens is the golden nugget there; Rugby League attracts many of the best players away from Union, and Rugby Australia suffers from a lack of funding as a result.
But whenever the Wallaroos are put to the test, they gain everyone’s admiration for their quality, overcoming the lack of preparation they have suffered.
They went down to England 41-5 in the RWC quarter-finals (Canada held England to 26-19), so one likely outcome for the last place in the Tier 1 line-up is a battle between USA and Australia. But then there’s Wales.
Wales
The Welsh squad is simply overjoyed at making it into Tier 1 at the last gasp. Theirs is a tale of redemption. Barely two years ago they were staring into the abyss; three wins and three bonus points in the 2023 6N saw them take a deserved place at the top table.
But the challenge they face will be considerable. Their first targets must be wins against Australia and USA. Both are possible, but they haven’t yet achieved a single one against either side in nine attempts.
Between now and October they need to unearth yet more top talent, to ensure they have sufficient alternative strength in key positions.
England
I have attempted to outline the pickle the RFU has got them into elsewhere (http:// 4theloveofsport.co.uk/2023/05/02/new-england-coach/) and (http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/ 2023/05/04/john-mitchell-is-confirmed/).
What should have been a streamlined run-in to the WXV has turned into a series of z-bends.
Aotearoa
The hosts have everything pointing in their favour. Since the next World Cup is due in England, they were the favourites to be offered the task of hosting the inaugural WXV Tier 1.
That narrow win in the RWC final has galvanised them. All the talk during the latest Super Aupiki is of yet more talent coming off the assembly line. Like England, France and USA they have a new head coach in place, the redoubtable Allan Bunting, who has a string of achievements on his CV.
Let’s hope NZR doesn’t have to work quite so hard as for the RWC to attract spectators to the matches on offer. At least this time some will take place on South Island, which helps even things up.
