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

But as usual, we are offered only the barest outline. It remains to be seen where in Canada the top-tier games will take place; just one location, or possibly more?

For WXV2 do we assume a repeat of the twin venues, Stellenbosch and Cape Town, or will the other end of the country get a look-in? For WXV3 Dubai means Dubai, that hotbed of international 15s rugby. So you can book your hotel with some assurance.

Roll up, roll up!

What sort of attendances should we have expected in the 2023 version? Whether we were optimistic or not, the fact is that they were distressingly small. Even Kiwi commentators admitted disappointment at their nation’s response to hosting the six strongest teams in the world.

It’s good to hear that Canada has got the nod for the top tier; the Maple Leafs’ performances in New Zealand alone justify the choice, but we still cannot be sure of larger gates. It will take a lot of publicity to attract spectators to travel vast distances to watch matches. Wherever Rugby Canada decides to hold the tournament – Vancouver? Edmonton? Toronto? Montreal? Halifax? – it will take a real commitment from Canadian enthusiasts to be present in one of those cities across a period of a few weeks.

The other rumoured favourites were France. We have yet to learn why they were discounted. They have the strongest support bar none around the world. If a centre like Toulouse had been selected, we could have been sure of a whole-hearted response. With WXV still in its teething stages; it needs all the support it can get.

Spain were also said to be willing to stage whichever tier their national team attained, but it has not come to pass.

Why the other two nations were picked for a second time is hard to understand. Perhaps it made life simpler for World Rugby: just roll out the same system as last year. But few can claim that either country fully deserves the honour. It did the players no favours to be performing in front of such tiny crowds. And it works against WR’s own professed ambition to spread the game around the world.

Above all, it means that no European country will have found favour till 2026 at the earliest. Next year sees the World Cup displacing it. Since Europe lies at the very heart of women’s rugby, this does seem a counter-intuitive decision.

The Stats have it

It’s heartening to read WR’s official stats on the health of the game: a 7% rise in the number of players, to approach two million; attendances rising in many places, though not as far and as fast as some would like.

More nations are playing more tests – not just thanks to WXV – and, even more ambitious, more are undertaking tours.

Changes, what changes?

You might suspect that WR’s dearest wish is to see new faces turning up for WXV mach-2, especially as there will be only one entirely new location. Those belonging to Six Nations sides may already have become familiar, but renewal is the name of the game.

In WXV1 the only likely switch would be for the sixth place. Last year Wales scraped in by the skin of their teeth. They may again, but first they have to ensure that third place in the 6N, by no means a given. Almost impossible to forecast the order in which the three Celtic nations will finish. And then there’s Italy to consider.

For the Pacific Four teams, no change is likely. Sadly the American Eagles still fail to advance as you might hope and expect. The Wallaroos are advancing at pace; they look odds on to join the Maple Leafs and the Black Ferns in the three places available to them in the top tier.

Not all the top five (England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and France) have produced unblemished records over the last year or so, but it’s hard to imagine any of them failing to retain their places.

Down at levels 2 and 3 the situation is far more flexible. The so-called ‘emerging nations’ received a shot in the arm when news of the new tournament broke in 2021. Now that they have had more time to advance their planning and structures, we should see who has made best use of it.

In WXV2 the six nations, Scotland, Italy, Japan, South Africa, USA and Samoa, present such startling differences of size and commitment to the game, that it’s hard to make predictions. We do know that the two European nations are full of the joys of spring; that the Eagles under- performed drastically in South Africa; that Samoa have the usual struggle to retain pole position against their Oceanic neighbours.

In WXV3 we are liable to mistake the competition for a romantic novel. How wonderful to see this extraordinary sextet competing together: Ireland, Fiji, Spain, Kenya, Kazakhstan and Colombia.

Here again we see nations with totally dissimilar rugby histories. Ireland, with their long hallowed traditions; Kazakhstan, who have been present at more RWCs than you might guess; then two representatives of huge continents, Colombia (lone Toucans from South America) and Kenya’s Lionesses (with only the Boks as African accompaniment); finally our last Pasifika nation, Fiji. At least Fijiana Drua have the advantage of a regular place in Australia’s Super W, where they do themselves proud.

But that assumes no change, a highly unlikely outcome. And that brings us to the tortuous business of qualification.

Who’ll win through to the final stages?

The qualification rules are complex with a capital K! If you want a run-down of the obscurities here, I refer you to John Birch’s masterly summary (www.scrumqueens.com/features/wxv-devil- detail). If he doesn’t understand all the inner workings, who does? A glance towards WR’s headquarters in Dublin? They have attempted to sort out some of the persistent doubts.

Tournament Dates:

Start: 27 September
Finish: 13 October

As before, three rounds will take place across three days each; the middle round set for 4-6 October. Bonus prizes this time include the chance of qualifying for the 2025 World Cup.

• All three levels of the tournament to be played across three consecutive weekends in September and October
• Six Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 qualification spots up for grabs
• WXV match schedule and ticketing information will be announced shortly

Following its impactful launch in 2023, the tournament remains central to World Rugby’s ambition to accelerate the growth of the women’s game. WXV provides more competitive matches for unions, greater profile and investment on the road to an expanded 16-team Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025.

2023 snapshot

• In WXV 1, England produced a statement performance in the final game to beat world champions New Zealand 33-12 and take the WXV 1 title in its inaugural year.
• Scotland’s 38-7 bonus-point victory over Japan in WXV 2 saw them crowned champions, narrowly pipping Italy on points difference despite the Azzurre’s own bonus-point victory over USA.
• WXV 3 saw a nail-biting showdown between Ireland and Spain, with Scott Bemand’s team clinching the win 15-13 to take the trophy home to Ireland.

All eyes on WXV 2024

Canada’s hosting of WXV 1 comes after record crowds at the World Rugby Pacific Four Series in 2023 and with the national team flying high in the top four of the World Rugby Women’s Rankings powered by Capgemini, hosting the pinnacle annual competition in the women’s calendar will ignite excitement further.

Meanwhile, building on the momentum achieved in 2023, WXV 2 will return to South Africa and WXV 3 to Dubai, delivering a world-class high-performance environment for teams.

This year’s tournament will kick off earlier to support performance planning and best preparation for unions for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025. All three levels will play across the same three weekends to enable the six qualification spots to be confirmed immediately after the conclusion of the tournament.

Round 1 – Friday, 27 – Sunday, 29 September

Round 2 – Friday, 4 – Sunday, 6 October

Round 3 – Friday, 11 – Sunday, 13 October

2024 qualification begins

Qualification for WXV gets underway in March with unions from around the world competing to secure one of 18 spots across the relevant levels through their regional competitions.

Competitive and exciting matches in the final round of WXV 2023 determined regional positions across all three levels for 2024 with exception to the final spot in WXV 3 which will be determined by a play-off between Colombia (placed last in WXV 3 2023) and Netherlands (top ranked team from alternative region).

The road to Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025

Four teams have already booked their place at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, courtesy of reaching the semi-finals of the previous edition, played in New Zealand in 2022. They are world champions New Zealand, Guinness Women’s Six Nations and WXV champions England, Canada and France.

A further six teams will qualify as winners of six regional tournaments in 2024 (Asia Rugby Women’s Championship, Guinness Women’s Six Nations, Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship, Pacific Four Series, Rugby Africa Women’s Cup and Sudamerica play-off).

The final six spots will go to the highest finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through RWC 2021 and the regional tournaments outlined above.

World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby Sally Horrox said: “We are delighted to be working with Rugby Canada, the South African Rugby Union and Dubai to host WXV later this year. The tournament plays a fundamental role in helping us to grow women’s rugby and provides more opportunities for players, showcases the game to more fans and inspires more girls to play. Our hosts all share our ambition to take the tournament to the next level and further strengthen the development of the women’s game.

“It’s crucial that teams get sufficient preparation and game-time ahead of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, and WXV is designed to help to provide this for players and coaches alike. I saw firsthand just how much the competitiveness grew across the tournament last year and I look forward to the same again.”

WXV continues to be supported by Mastercard, Capgemini, Gallagher, Mitsubishi Electric and ChildFund with World Rugby also injecting multi-million-pound investment on the road to RWC 2025.

WXV will break in 2025 for Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, and a full review of the tournament will be undertaken with participating unions to ensure that, collectively, WXV continues to support high-performance and commercial goals on the road to Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 in Australia and beyond.

The WXV match schedule, venues and ticketing information will be announced in the coming weeks.

More information, including all the latest WXV news, can be found here.

With thanks to World Rugby

As with every other rugby nation, they have twin aims in view: the 2024 WXV and the 2025 World Rugby. How they balance them up will be one of the fascinations of the coming year.

Spain’s first challenge would be to defeat the side finishing fifth in the coming Six Nations. That was an adjustment to the regulations introduced at a late date, meaning that Italy had to play off against them. They couldn’t just walk untroubled into WXV2.

Le Azzurre won that decider comfortably 23-0, sentencing Las Leonas to WXV3, where they failed by the tightest margin (13-15) to beat Ireland to the top place.

But the RFER seems willing to stage either WXV2 or WXV3, depending on how its national side succeeds. Europe always seemed a likely venue for the second WXV. One question is whether it would be proper for it to stage two tiers. It seems unlikely. Two other leading contenders, France and England, have their hands full, one with the Olympics, the other with a World Cup.

The new Italy-Spain challenge is another step towards Spanish players being offered high-level match practice to ready them for the big time. In essence, it gives the selectors the chance to survey the best 50 players as a prelude to whittling them down to an elite squad for future contests.

We will get an initial indication of standards as the two Spanish teams take on Italy on 7 January. Will members of PWR clubs in England be allowed to participate? These matches clash directly with Round Seven of PWR. The global calendar can’t satisfy everyone!

The Federation admits the lack of resources offered to the national side in recent years, but has full confidence in their promise. It now gives an impression similar to Italy’s of giving proper backing to its women’s team.

Venues

RFER’s unconfirmed willingness to offer a venue for one of the WXV tiers is heartening in itself. In my coverage of WXV I’ve suggested that World Rugby might find it tricky getting three countries to provide hosting facilities. Even New Zealand found it impossible to attract the crowds expected to watch the six best nations on earth dispute WXV1.

Attendances

Sally Horrox, World Rugby’s director of women’s rugby, admitted that crowds need to grow, but is sure they will. Optimism is always an asset for a person in so responsible a position.

But she makes statements that ask as many questions as they answer. She says her committee will indulge in more long-term planning, and people will know more about it; they will have more advance notice. The question she leaves unanswered is why those matters weren’t already taken in hand. The operation was delayed by Covid-19, but the planning for it as well?.

Then we must wonder, if New Zealanders were not willing to turn out to watch five of the six top teams in the world, when and where will spectators come in goodly numbers?

The sixth team is of course the Black Ferns. For the final of the World Cup, the organisers had to pull out all the stops to ensure the 42,000 attendance at Eden Park.

With far less publicity given to WXV1 in Auckland, the Go Media Stadium was pitifully empty for the Black Ferns-Red Roses match, though far fuller than for the two preceding games. One local resident claims he knew nothing about it till it was too late.

One of the traditions of international sport is the emphasis on national performance, aka patriotism. Two national anthems are played before every game; a hand-held camera stares into the face of every player in turn. She responds by bawling out her anthem fortissimo (one exception: the Spanish anthem is not sung).

In this way national identity is placed before love of the sport. In a yet more extreme form, football fans show greater devotion to their club than to the game itself.

These and other factors deter people from coming to watch matches not involving the home team.

Horrox claimed she could see the appetite was there. We are left wondering where she was looking when she spotted it. A further claim was that between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators had attended WXV1 over a weekend. Why the very approximate total? Have the local authorities not offered the precise figures? The contrast between the Black Ferns’ matches and the others would reveal much about sports fans’ preferences.

Venues

Hand in hand with the difficulty of attracting spectators is the choice of venues. For the record they were:

WXV1: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin; Sky Stadium, Wellington; Go Media Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland

WXV2: Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch; Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town WXV3: The Sevens Stadium, Dubai

Comments: 3 venues for Tier One; 2 venues for Tier Two; 1 venue for Tier Three: any significance?

Why choose a country (Dubai) that has no visible interest or participation in 15s rugby?

Of the other two, only New Zealand has a history of attracting far more than ‘family and friends’ or ‘two men and a dog’.

It seemed a huge pity that so devoted a servant of the game as Danie Craven had his eponymous arena only sparsely populated.

How much local publicity was given to the 27 matches?

The organisers decided that the stadiums chosen should fit the high aims of the WXV concept. Quite right. But that still left a striking difference between the grass banking in Dubai and the vast covered space in Dunedin. WXV were hiding an unpalatable truth when they reported: ‘Around 500 junior female athletes flocked to Dunedin last week’. Inviting youngsters along to a big match is always a good idea. But this posting hid the bitter truth about the swathe of empty terraces that Marlie Packer was brave enough to describe as disappointing.

Were the chosen venues a case of ‘Some shall be more equal than others’?

We need constantly to remind ourselves that WXV is an annual event. So next year three more nations will have to be found able and willing to host 540 players and all their attendants. After seeing the difficulties three countries faced in 2023, will they be putting their names forward for consideration?
As things stand at present, only the members of the Six Nations are consistently breaking attendance records. And of those, only two aim to reach five figures.

TV companies don’t appreciate their cameras staring into serried ranks of plastic seating.

All the comments above are based on the assumption that the organising committee will offer the same structures in the future.

They will be analysing every aspect of the recent tournament with a microscope, to see if any adjustments are needed.

England

They had an unusual approach to the new tournament: a new interim coach and new assistant coaches; the incoming coach just arriving from France, and with no experience of the women’s game.

That was the set-up the RFU had ordained. One further bugbear: the Red Roses never beat the Kiwis in games that matter.

The big match: the tries all scored by forwards. Was that thee proof that their (mainly) Kiwi critics were spot on? Yes, to a degree. But Ellie Kildunne was deprived of two tries by one tiny and one less tiny margin (if her boots had been size three?)

Allan Bunting had talked up his pack, as is the job of every coach, but they were comprehensively outplayed by England.

The story in the backs was different: Kennedy Simon’s try came when Abby Dow was left with three players to mark, a repeated weakness in the English system (and in many others too). The much vaunted backline wasn’t able to score a clear-cut try through out-manoeuvring their opponents.

But their opponents admit they were a well-oiled machine. When we consider the players not on the paddock that day: amongst others Cleall, Cokayne, Cornborough, Harrison, Infante, Kabeya, Lucy Packer, Scarratt and Ward, it speaks volumes for the depth and quality of the player-pool.

Back in May, when he was appointed to take control, John Mitchell said he wanted the team to ‘mature in key areas’. We are left to guess what they are.

Canada (finished second)

This series was a triumph for Kévin Rouet and his squad. They beat Wales easily and finished with a worthy win over France. All this without the benefit of regular training sessions together – a shortage shared by other WXV nations that cannot easily be put right. The other need is for more regular competition, to be eased only partly by WXV. The Maple Leafs are among those who go to England or France to enhance their careers. The wonder is they can produce such fine standards when they reconvene.

There is real competition for places, though one or two areas, especially the front row, urgently need younger competition.

To get a measure of their achievement, we need only look at the standing of their men’s team; they lie 23rd in the world.

Australia (finished third)

Jay Tregonning too needs a hearty slap on the back for what he and his players have achieved. He was the one coach known to be returning to his day-job as a teacher at the conclusion of the series.

He leavees the Wallaroos in a far better state then when he took over. In 2021 he replaced Dwayne Nestor who had been accused of unacceptable language. One of Tregonning’s missions was to create a ‘safe culture’ for the players. One glance at their play in New Zealand shows how successful he has been. After going down to England, they had two fine wins, especially against France.

RA’s challenge now is to choose the right person to build on this positive advance. Rugby lags behind other team sports in the country. Let’s hope these performances lead to more support of every kind.

New Zealand (finished fourth)

How close to a disaster was this for the Black Ferns? When did they last finish fourth in any competition? (They finished fifth in the 2014 RWC!).

Their two big rivals, France and England, had beem planning their downfall from way back. It would be a real challenge taking them on their home soil. Both succeeded.

Across rugby’s history Kiwis have been the model for quick adaptation, for reacting positively to temporary setbacks. That had seemed to happen after the European tour two years ago. There the players had good reason to be a distance short of their best.

Once home they set up a trail of victories, just as in the past. Hopes were high; players old and young were praised to the skies. But weaknesses persisted. There was still doubt about the relationship between the Sevens and Fifteens squads. Ruby Tui’s return to the WXV was greeted with delight, but other major names stayed with 7s.

The BF’s loss to France was a shock. Seeing France then lose to Australia and Canada adds a deeper shade of black to the picture.

At last year’s RWC the distinguished coach, Mike Cron, thought the pack was 6 months behind England. Since then they have receded, not advanced. It was up front where the England game was lost.

The coming weeks will offer a fascinating view of their response to their troubles.

France (finished fifth)

What! Fifth? Gaëlle Mignot had stated the intention was to win the tournament. At some stage the stress was shifted to winning the RWC, still two years away.

They began with an outstanding if close win against the Black Ferns. After that it was a downward spiral. The biggest failure was to score when in the red zone.

French critics have challenged the selections as a nonsense. Fair enough to bring a host of younger players along for a first taste of the big time, not the way they were used. The widely held view back home is that any sensible coach would employ the experienced, trusted players to start each game; the new faces could wait their turn on the bench.

But no. In the final game against Canada, which absolutely had to be won, names like Bourdon Sansus, Vernier and Banet were absent at kick-off.

The harshest criticism suggests the coaches are incapable of accepting responsibility, of placing the blame on the players. The final judges will be the FFR themselves. They will conduct the review to decide where the blame, if any, resides.

Since the retirement of Annick Hayraud as head coach there have been two changes of cast; a third one would look like incompetence.

Wales (finished sixth)

Ioan Cunningham has taken a sensible approach to his squad’s development. The bad times are (we trust) firmly behind them, but a sudden acquisition of contracts does not mean a vertical climb to success. He gave the squad sensible targets and hid any disappointments he may have felt at the outcome of their WXV venture.

I have a pet theory: when one name keeps recurring in reports of a national team, it’s not good news. That was the case with Ruby Tui for New Zealand. She couldn’t turn the game against England.

It’s even more true of Jasmine Joyce. Mention her name and every Welsh fan goes into paroxysms of delight. But she is human, and one player cannot carry a team’s hopes alone. Wales do not yet have sufficient player depth to ensure victories over the toughest opposition.

So Cymru must go on building. The next target is the 2024 Six Nations. They have to make sure they have the beating of Ireland, Italy and Scotland: not an easy task.

The Road ahead

That final order was one big surprise. Will next year tell the same story?

The new top-six rankings, powered by Capgemini, have been published. If we place the WXV1 finishing order alongside, we can see the upsets that occurred over the past three weeks:

England            96.18      England

New Zealand    90.56     Canada

France               87.89      Australia

Canada              86.27      New Zealand

Australia           81.61       France

Wales                 76.67       Wales

Unsurprisingly only England, Canada and Australia have advanced since last month.

I shouldn’t call this the third topsy-turvy result of the series, but pre-match France had looked the out-and-out winners.

No, the two nations have been competing for that third place in the world hierarchy for a long time.

Today the Maple Leafs put on a show to remember.

France won the first penalty for holding on. Morgane Bourgeois potted it to give her side a heartening lead.

The opening phases were all about the boot. Critics who dislike this part of the game must remember never to call it rugby FOOTball.

Les Bleues seemed to go 30-love up when Pauline Bourdon-Sansus, at last restored to her proper place, nicked the ball from Justine Pelletier’s grasp behind a scrum. The backs made good use of space and handling to allow Marine Ménager her first dangerous run down the flank. When the Canadians regained possession, Julia Schell made a poor clearance to touch, gaining little yardage.

Even better for the French, PB-S made a wonderful dive over two much larger defenders to land beyond the try-line; bravery and athleticism combined. 10-0

They were playing with complete abandon, even a scuffed kick across field and along the ground helped them gain territory. The pace of their game demanded intense commitment from the Canucks. Their hard toil was to pay off.

Over half-an-hour passed before they put together a threatening move. A break through midfield led to an attacking line-out, and Emily Tuttosi, at the top of the line-out accuracy stats, had her reward with a try. 10-7

Now it was Nassira Kondé’s turn to see yellow for a head-on-head tackle on Alex Tessier. Though it didn’t produce results, the ensuing scrum saw four Maple Leaf backs line up one behind the other, a real autumn leaf-fall.

France had been well on top, but at half-time their lead was an almost invisible three points.

The start of the second half saw a wonderful passage of play. As so often happens, two loose French passes affected the opposition more than them. Emeline Gros made a huge break through midfield and the French hammered at the line. But then a turnover and Canada countered. Krissy Scurfield was on the end of an outstanding move of many off-loads to put them in the lead at last. 10-14

At this point Gabrielle Vernier left the field for an HIA, to be replaced by Caroline Boujard.

Fortunately for France Vernier was allowed to return later.

By now the balance of power had clearly shifted. Only an unsuccessful reverse pass by Sarah- Maude Lachance prevented a further score.

The Canadian pack were coming into their own. They mounted a powerful scrum to send their opponents reeling backwards. Around this period France yielded three penalties, always a sign of undue pressure. The result was a second try, by the same Tuttosi. 10-19

It was high time for a French response. That meant a tap-and-go by Bourdon-Sansus; but for once she had no support handy.

At this point on came Annaëlle Deshayes into the front row after too long an absence. Yet more changes, no doubt with a coach’s message attached, and ultra-quick hands saw Ménager cut an intelligent line to score. Another Bourgeois conversion reduced the lead to two points. Smelling- salts needed again.

It was the Canadians who responded. Another lovely move finished with Fancy Bermudez giving and taking passes to run to the line. She is another young player to make her mark on the tournament. 10-26

Already the position was close to desperate for the French. For all their attacking flair, they weren’t getting points on the board.

By the time a series of quick breaks led to a penalty in front, the three points Bourgeois added still left them needing a converted try. Only eight minutes on the clock. 20-26

Events shut the door on them. An inaccurate pass let Florence Symonds put in a thunderous tackle on Ménager, and Kondé fell offside. Sophie De Goede added three more points. 20-29

Till now I have failed to mention her presence. Rest assured, she was everywhere.

A last offensive by the French ended with an unfortunate knock-on by Émilie Boulard. The look on her face summed up a nation’s feelings.

Result: Canada 29 France 20

Player of the Match: Fancy Bermudez

Teams

Canada: 1 McKinley Hunt, 2 Emily Tuttosi, 3 DaLeaka Menin, 4 Tyson Beukeboom, 5 Courtney Holtkamp, 6 Gabrielle Senft, 7 Sara Svoboda, 8 Sophie de Goede (captain), 9 Justine Pelletier, 10 Julia Schell, 11 Krissy Scurfield, 12 Alexandra Tessier, 13 Fancy Bermudez, 14 Paige Farries, 15 Sarah-Maude Lachance

Bench: 16 Gillian Boag, 17 Brittany Kassil, 18 Alex Ellis, 19 Laetitia Royer, 20 *Julia Omokhuale, 21 Olivia Apps, 22 Shoshanah Seumanutafa, 23. Florence Symonds
*uncapped

France: 15 Morgane Bourgeois, 14 Marine Ménager, 13 Nassira Kondé 12 Gabrielle Vernier, 11 Émilie Boulard, 10 Lina Queyroi, 9 Pauline Bourdon-Sansus, 1 Ambre Mwayembe, 2 Laure Touyé, 3 Assia Khalfaoui, 4 Manae Feleu (captain), 5 Audrey Forlani, 6 Emeline Gros, 7 Gaëlle Hermet, 8 Charlotte Escudero

Bench: 16 Elisa Riffonneau, 17 Annaëlle Deshayes, 18 Yllana Brosseau, 19 *Kiara Zago, 20 Léa Champon, 21 Alex Chambon, 22 Carla Arbez, 23 Caroline Boujard
*uncapped

Officials:
Referee: Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZR)
ARs: Lauren Jenner (FIR) and Tiana Anderson (NZR) TMO: Rachel Horton (RA)

England were the overwhelming victors of the final game in the WXV series.

Ellie Kildunne of England during the WXV1 match between New Zealand Black Ferns and England (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)

At last the Red Roses were able to answer all the lingering doubts about their pre-eminent place in world rugby. They beat the Black Ferns on their own patch by five tries to two.

They took control from the start. Alex Matthews was on the end of a dominant scrum, driving over after only four minutes. Holly Aitchison converted. 7-0. That allowed them to cast aside any early nerves.

On eight minutes the Black Ferns messed up a line-out; Mo Hunt put up a box-kick which was knocked on to keep up the pressure. Matthews was just held but gained a penalty. From there it was the repeating groove again: an accurate Aitchison kick to the corner, a perfectly executed line-out, and Lark Atkin-Davies added one more to her large collection of tries on the back of an unstoppable maul.

The pace of the game was relentless. One effect was to raise the number of penalties the Black Ferns incurrred. They, plus tiny handling errors and faulty kick-placements, added to their problems in gaining a foothold in the game.

Sarah Bern was a leading figure throughout the match; appropriately it was she who added a third try. (19-0)

Just before the break the Black Ferns showed why they are the world champions, when Kennedy Simon completed a lovely move that finally overcame a tight defence.

Half-time: England 19 New Zealand 7

The only time when England’s tactics looked wrong came just after the restart. Now they resorted to two caterpillar rucks, built at caterpillar pace. We knew what was coming: a box-kick from Mo Hunt. So did the Ferns’ defence. They had the drawbridge lifted, and every arrow in the castle pointing down at the invader.

After an ocean of time up went the kick. On both occasions precious possession was gifted to the opposition; both times territory was lost, and more vitally, a second try.. Nine minutes after the restart Katelyn Vahaakolo skated over the line, and the margin was reduced to a single score. (19-12).

If this was part of England’s strategy, then we have to ask why. If not, why this elaborate and fruitless ploy?

For the rest, power and skill up front and speed, courage and guile out behind let their opponents’ faces tell their own story.

A couple of errors by the England skipper were untypical, but Louis Deacon sent Hannah Botterman on in the 46th minute, and that helped solve any lingering concerns about scrum supremacy.

Meg Jones made her mark the moment she arrived to replace Tatyana Heard, off for an HIA. She jinked through midfield to upset the Ferns’ defensive patterns. The pack took over, and Morwenna Talling powered over for a try she may well set above all the others she will score in her future career. 26-12

The next moment Abby Dow was ripping the ball from Ferns’ hands, to show the relentless pressure the hosts were under. Sudden possession liike this enabled Aitchison’s boot to gain more valuable ground.

Heard returned from her HIA.

Such was that pressure that Ruahei Demant missed touch out of defence. Another English raid beckoned.

To their credit the Ferns now put their house in order and mounted a series of attacks. It’s in this sort of game-situation that England’s long training sessions must be of the greatest benefit. Thrust followed thrust, but each time the defensive line was re-established; every player knew what her next task was. Gaps didn’t appear.

As we reached the three-quarter mark, the Red Roses had made only two unforced changes. When the cavalry did arrive, they put together a 10-phase attack. On the end of it Zoe Aldcroft went over for England’s fifth and final try.

Result: England 33 New Zealand 12 Player of the Match: Sarah Bern

Teams:
England: 15 Ellie Kildunne, 14 Abby Dow, 13 Helena Rowland, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Claudia MacDonald, 10 Holly Aitchison, 9 Mo Hunt, 1 Mackenzie Carson, 2 Lark Atkin-Davies, 3 Sarah Bern, 4 Zoe Aldcroft, 5 Rosie Galligan, 6 Morwenna Talling, 7 Marlie Packer (captain), 8 Alex Matthews
Bench: 16 Connie Powell, 17. Hannah Botterman, 18. Maud Muir, 19. Sarah Beckett, 20. Maisy Allen, 21. Ella Wyrwas, 22. Megan Jones, 23. Jess Breach

New Zealand: 15 Renee Holmes, 14 Ruby Tui, 12 Sylvia Brunt, 13 Amy du Plessis, 11 Mererangi Paul, 10 Ruahei Demant (co-captain), 9 Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu, 1 Kate Henwood, 2 Georgia Ponsonby, 3 Amy Rule, 4 Maiakawanakaulani Roos, 5 Chelsea Bremner, 6 Alana Bremner, 7 Kennedy Simon (co-captain), 8 Liana Mikaele-Tu’u

Bench: 16 Luka Connor, 17 Krystal Murray, 18 Sophie Fisher, 19 Layla Sae, 20 Lucy Jenkins, 21 Iritana Hohaia, 22 Patricia Maliepo, 23 Katelyn Vahaakolo

Note: Amy Cokayne was a late withdrawal after failing a fitness test. Connie Powell took her place.

Officials:
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)
ARs: Hollie Davidson (SRU) and Amber McLachlan (RA) TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)

If you guessed the finishing order in the table below, well done!

WXV1 table                         W      L     Pts

England                                3        0       15

Canada                                 2         1       10

Australia                              2         1       10

New Zealand                      1          2        6    

France                                  1          2        4   

Wales                                   0          3         1

Afterthoughts

Marlie Packer of England poses with the player of the match award after the WXV1 match between New Zealand Black Ferns and England (Photo by Fiona Goodall – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

For the Black Ferns this was the heaviest home defeat in their distinguished history. Hard to credit that they finished fourth out of six.

For the Red Roses it was a long wished-for victory, even more meritorious than their last one on New Zealand soil six years earlier. They completed an unbeaten 2023.

No wonder you might have sensed a tear in the eye of Sarah Hunter, now in the coaches’ box.

From the last RWC final eleven Black Ferns were present here and twelve Red Roses. That’s quite a turnover inside a year, and very few of them retired post-final.

The game was blissfully free from cards of any colour. Much of the credit for that is due to Aimee Barrett-Theron’s admirable control of events. There were moments went the saucepan threatened to boil over.

At last Kiwis turned out in decent numbers to watch a game of footy. Many nations offered colourful support on the ground.

There were post-match awards to be made, some properly belonging to the WR’s annual gathering in Paris the previous month.

The most promising Breakthrough Player of the Year was Katelyn Vahaakolo, who appropriately had scored a glamorous try today.

The Player of the Year award went to the England captain, Marlie Packer, who might possibly be granted the first ever solo Open-top Bus Parade through the streets of Yeovil.

It’s a sad fact that Wales didn’t deserve to win this tight match. Once more cards played a central role. Siokapesi Palu was shown a red, the fourth of the tournament, for jumping into Jasmine Joyce with a dangerous shoulder-to-head tackle. After half-time Sera Naiqama was dismissed for ten minutes for pulling down a driving maul.

For the umpteenth time it was 15 v 13, and yet Wales failed to exploit this advantage. Their penalty count reached eight by the break and went on mounting afterwards. The Wallaroos were far more skilful in their handling, off-loads adding dozens of metres to their attacks.

It took them a quarter-of-an-hour to make their mark. Maya Stewart finished a delightful move on the right. The Welsh had conceded a series of infringements and the defence was caught too narrow once more.

They countered with a successful drive, Carys Phillips claiming the try converted by Keira Bevan, but Bethan Lewis at once dropped the kick-off to concede possession and territory. The direct result was a Carys Dallinger penalty that nudged the Wallaroos in front again.

Half-time: Australia 8 Wales 7

Now came the error by Palu which should have sealed Australia’s fate. It didn’t. Wales’ forward rumbles tended to finish with players losing their footing; the backs couldn’t exploit the numbers advantage that was permanently on offer.

Lleucu George tried several testing cross-kicks. One demanded a review by the TMO; did Wales get the touchdown? Answer no.

But now they were getting on top. A threatening drive was brought down; Hollie Davidson ran under the posts and Naiqama was off for ten minutes.

This was surely the crucial stretch of the game, but the Welsh simply couldn’t take full control. All too often possession was conceded, and Wallaroo thrusts were not stopped efficiently enough.

A delightful chip and catch led to yet another penalty, and Eva Karpani, who had already scored a hat-trick in the series, powered through tackles to score. Given the shape of the game, it should have been her opposite number, Sisilia Tuipulotu, scoring at the other end, but no.

Lori Cramer added to Wales’ misery by scoring another try to give her side breathing space. 20-14

On 58 minutes Naiqama returned; the Australians had restored their lead without her help.

Cymru responded with another pack drive, but, as so often, it wasn’t solidly formed, and they were pinged for holding on as they went to ground.

Dallinger sent another cross-kick into the right corner. Arms reached high, but no-one could claim it cleanly. Most unusually, the ball finished deep in-goal, looking very lonely and unloved. Cramer was the first to arrive to claim a very soft try. Where was the Welsh defence this time?

More fine handling saw Ivania Wong breeze over on the left with an overlap. How was that possible? Wales were barely clinging on. Their anxiety led to more rash options and unforced errors. Sad to say, they were reverting to the heads-down performances of three years ago, when they had every reason to feel unloved and ignored.

They regained confidence as the minutes ticked by; Kelsey Jones added their third try with three minutes left on the clock. Perhaps it was inevitable that George’’s conversion hit the left post and pranged back. Success would have meant another Welsh try wouldn’t need to be converted.

The closing moments were as tense as you please, but Aussie determination stayed firm to leave Wales winless in the series; they have never yet beaten the Wallaroos.

If the same set of results pertained next year, they would find themselves condemned to relegation.

Result: Australia 25 Wales 19
Player of the Match: Kaitlan Leaney

Teams:

Australia: 1 Brianna Hoy, 2 Tania Naden, 3 Eva Karpani, 4 Sera Naiqama, 5 Michaela Leonard (captain), 6 Siokapesi Palu, 7 Emily Chancellor, 8 Kaitlan Leaney, 9 Layne Morgan, 10 Carys Dallinger, 11 Ivania Wong, 12 Arabella McKenzie, 13 Georgina Friedrichs, 14 Maya Stewart, 15 Faitala Moleka

Bench: 16 Adiana Talakai, 17 Bree-Anna Cheatham, 18 Bridie O’Gorman, 19 Atasi Lafai, 20 Ashley Marsters, 21 Jasmin Huriwai, 22 Cecilia Smith, 23 Lori Cramer

Wales: 15. Jasmine Joyce, 14. Lisa Neumann, 13. Hannah Jones (captain), 12. Hannah Bluck,
11. Carys Cox, 10. Lleucu George, 9. Keira Bevan, 1. Gwenllian Pyrs, 2. Carys Phillips, 3. Sisilia Tuipulotu, 4. Abbie Fleming, 5. Georgia Evans, 6. Kate Williams, 7. Alex Callender, 8. Bethan Lewis

Bench: 16. Kelsey Jones, 17. Abbey Constable, 18. Cerys Hale, 19. Alisha Butchers, 20. Sioned Harries, 21. Meg Davies, 22. Robyn Wilkins, 23. Keryn Lake

Officials:

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
ARs: Sara Cox (RFU) and Tiana Anderson (NZR)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)

The first big bump was the loss to Australia. That may or may not have been a possibility that crossed their minds. I suspect it wasn’t.

The Maple Leafs’ record against France, though limited in numbers, gives cause for optimism; they are quite used to beating them. But that record depended largely on times long past, when teams gathered regularly in North America for out-of-season series.

This time round Les Bleues enter the ring as firm favourites. Full teams are listed below.

Canada

Kevin Rouet has left his splendid pack well alone, but made changes out behind. Justine Pelletier partners Julia Schell at half-back, Fancy Bermudez replaces Shoshanah Seumanutafa in the centre and Krissy Scurfield takes over on the left wing. Laetitia Royer’s return from injury strengthens the forwards off the bench.

France

The three French selectors – add Sylvain Mirande to the co-coaches – have made wholesale changes to their line-up. This tallies with their overall strategy of preparing every player for the different demands of starting and finishing a game.

The one enforced absence is Madoussou Fall who has cruelly suffered a broken leg only shortly after returning from an earlier injury. Audrey Forlani, so recently the captain, takes her place alongside the her replacement, Manae Feleu. In front of them an entirely new front row. The expected return of Gabrielle Vernier to the centre forces Marine Ménager to the wing.

Only France can equal England in changing a team so drastically while retaining so much experience and quality. That is the effect of a buoyant league set-up. The prospective debutant is the 18-year-old Kiara Zago, who is the same height as Fall, so will provide a useful presence if needed.

Teams

Canada: 1 McKinley Hunt, 2 Emily Tuttosi, 3 DaLeaka Menin, 4 Tyson Beukeboom, 5 Courtney Holtkamp, 6 Gabrielle Senft, 7 Sara Svoboda, 8 Sophie de Goede (captain), 9 Justine Pelletier, 10 Julia Schell, 11 Krissy Scurfield, 12 Alexandra Tessier, 13 Fancy Bermudez, 14 Paige Farries, 15 Sarah-Maude Lachance

Bench: 16 Gillian Boag, 17 Brittany Kassil, 18 Alex Ellis, 19 Laetitia Royer, 20 *Julia Omokhuale, 21 Olivia Apps, 22 Shoshanah Seumanutafa, 23. Florence Symonds
*uncapped

France: 15 Morgane Bourgeois , 14 Marine Ménager, 13 Nassira Kondé 12 Gabrielle Vernier, 11 Émilie Boulard, 10 Lina Queyroi, 9 Pauline Bourdon-Sansus, 1 Ambre Mwayembe, 2 Laure Touyé, 3 Assia Khalfaoui, 4 Manae Feleu (captain), 5 Audrey Forlani, 6 Emeline Gros, 7 Gaëlle Hermet, 8 Charlotte Escudero

Bench: 16 Elisa Riffonneau, 17 Coco Lindelauf 18 Yllana Brosseau, 19 *Kiara Zago, 20 Léa Champon, 21 Alex Chambon, 22 Carla Arbez, 23 Caroline Boujard
*uncapped

Match Details

4 November, Go Media Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland; KO 16.00 (local time), 03.00 (UK time) – a challenging hour for European viewers.