Amsterdam, 16 March 2024
This was a triumph for the Oranjes as they beat Colombia with something to spare.
Their 33-11 win assured a place in WXV3, replacing the Tucanes, who had qualified for last year’s inaugural tournament, but finished an unsurprising last. They were the lowest ranked of the eighteen nations taking part.
But the Dutch know the job is only half done. Their other great ambition is to qualify for the World Cup and that means taking on sides with far more experience, especially Spain, whom they meet on 6 April.
The strong Colombian pack helped build a strong attack in the opening moments. A line-out catch and break took them straight over the line. 0-5
This stung the hosts into renewed effort. They had already looked a cohesive unit, but now they stretched the Toucans’ defence on both wings and through the middle. Finally it was Isa Prins who strode through to score by the posts. 7-5
It was a sign of how things were to turn out that a promising Colombian attack was undone by a careless pass. It allowed Lieve Stallmann to stroll over untroubled on the left. Jet Metz completed her second conversion from a far more testing position. 14-5
As a Colombia player lay on the floor, Doriane Domenjo had a quiet word with the Dutch captain about tackle heights. A second word was needed later, but still no card. Four minutes from the break the Toucans’ pack won a big scrum penalty for Maria Arzuaga to add three points.
Half-time: 14-8
Sylke Haverkorn said some wise words indoors, because the Oranjes came out again with a smart atteck. Slick hands and quick repossessions ended with the skipper powering over. 19-8
Card-lovers had to wait till the 47th minute for Lisa Boot to receive her marching orders – off-side during another bout of aerial ping-pong in the blustery wind.
All that the Tucanes could achieve in her absence was another fine penalty kick by Arzuaga. She had already proved her worth in WXV. 19-11
The margin grew as the Dutch spread the ball to the right where Gaya van Nifterik escaped a desperate final grasp to cross the line. 24-11
To complete the job, the orange pack destroyed another scrum. Van Nifterik made a decisive break to the 5-metre line and from there the Dutch moved the ball smoothly out to the right, where Pleuni Kievit earned herself some glory.
As the final whistle went, it was joy unconfined for the Oranjes. The Tucanes had run out of lung power, and their future on the world stage now hangs in the balance.
Result: 33-11
There was the added boost for the Dutch that they had to perform without their star player and captain, Linde van der Velden, banned for at least two games.
But they were yet another side to fall under the spell of the caterpillar ruck. This brought their attacks to a shuddering halt and gave the defence time to sort their positions. Quite counter-productive.
Once upon a time it was the forwards’ job to ‘ruck’ the ball with their feet (‘ruck’ here = ‘back’), but now they are elongated marble statues, while the 9 plays foot-juggler, daintily doing their job. Add up the time taken over all these manoeuvres, and you could fit in another 20 minutes’ play, even see the ball passed out to the backs. Whatever next?
A Colombian Viewpoint
The Tucanes now have to wait their turn, with all the disappointment and frustration that means. They had a hard but important experience in WXV3. Though they finished winless, simply being in that competitive environment was a boon for the players and the staff. A new head coach, Luis Pedro Achard, was appointed in January; he has been given charge of the men’s squad as well.
Achard, a Uruguayan, had coaching experience in Sevens, but ironically Las Tucanes are not caught up in the South American Sevens Cup. That gave a big lift in player strength; all their best players could focus on their 15s skills. In his turn, Achard had concentrated on the women’s team as they faced testing competition.
Even so, coming to the cold climate of northern Europe was a big test for them, not least because they still lagged thirteen places behind the Dutch in rankings. There were a number of weaknesses that need sorting. Amongst others: the line-out was a lottery, and the scrum-half’s pass was too much of a scoop to allow her backs space to exploit wider areas.
This game highlighted World Rugby’s dilemma. It was wonderful seeing teams from two continents meeting in front of a sizeable crowd, but the disparities in opportunities – even at this level – are still marked. Let’s applaud both the two unions, the players and WR for making it all possible.
Teams:
Netherlands
1 Nicky Dix 2 Anoushka Beukers 3 Brechtje Karst 4 Inge Jongerius (captain) 5 Isa Prins 6 Mhina de Vos 7 Gaya van Nifterik 8 Lisa Boot 9 Esmre Ligtvoet 10 Jet Metz 11 Lieve Stallmann 12 Pien Selbeck 13 Isa Spoler 14 Gaya van Nifterik 15 Pleuni Kievit
Bench: 16 Sydney de Weijer 17 Anouk Veerkamp 18 Julia Morauw 19 Liza de Wild 20 Aniek Nauta 21 Marit Lemmens 22 Quen Makkinga 23 Senne Hoog
Colombia
1 Catalina Suarez 2 Camila Cardona 3 Gisel Gomez 4 Laura Gutierrez 5 Annagith Vargas 6 Tatiana Hernandez 7 Valerria Nunoz 8 Maribel Mestra 9 Camila Lopera 10 Laura Mejia 11 Juliana Soto 12 Maria Arzuaga 13 Leidy Soto 14 Nikol Durango 15 Valenina Tapias
Bench: 16 Silvia Olave 17 Natalia Caycedo 18 Tatiana Delgado 19 Ana Camacho 20 Angela Alzata 21 Angie Manyoma 22 Melisa Rios 23 Zuliema Orobio
Officials
Referee: Doriane Domenjo (Fra)
ARs: Adele Robert (Bel) and Maria Heitor (Por) with thanks to rugbyreferee.net
