What a sight! Twickenham Stadium was already over 50,000 full for the bronze medal match; the top (third) tier well stocked for the first time ever in a women’s game. It was hard for both squads collecting themselves after the disappointments of the previous weekend. But there were medals to be won. The world was
Hard to believe, but there is one game no-one at the World Cup wanted to play in: the runners-up contest. Yes, there is the excitement of playing in what the French like to call the Temple of Rugby, but it’s the equivalent of the B film in a 1950s cinema. This France-New Zealand game forms
England reached another RWC final, but not as expected. France, frustrated by events, threw everything at them, but came up short for the ninth time running. The wet ball helped cause two knock-ons at the start, one English, one French. The game lurched as England won a sudden turnover; the ball moved quickly via Abbie
This is the French 23 chosen by the co-selectors to face England in the second semi-final. 15 BOURGEOIS 14 GRISEZ 13 KONDE 12 VERNIER 11 M. MENAGER 10 ARBEZ 9 BOURDON-SANSUS 1 BROSSEAU 2 GERIN 3 BERNADOU 4 FALL RACLOT 5 IKAHEHEGI 6 ESCUDERO 7 CHAMPON 8 T. FELEU 16 RIFFONNEAU 17 DESHAYE 18 KHALFAOUI
Now we know the four teams: Canada, England, France and New Zealand. Cynics will say they’ve known them for years. Sadly they’re right, but there’s no short cut to glory. Each of the four has its own approach to these final stages. Once again in alphabetical order: Canada was the union to place its cards
I doubt if any RWC has known events like this. After the France-Ireland match on Sunday not one, but two citings were entered by Ireland. Manae Feleu, co-captain of France, was accused of a dangerous tackle. But far more serious, Axelle Berthoumieu; the blind-side flanker, was accused of biting Aoife Wafer’s arm. A disciplinary committee
France v Ireland (quarter-final) From another match with an agonising finish I select a stat which occurred much earlier. I believe it determined the final score. On 39 minutes Manae Feleu was shown yellow for pulling a maul down. The Irish built that astonishing attack, but it came to nothing in the end. Back to
New Zealand are going to win a seventh world trophy. That is what hundreds of Kiwi pundits are telling us, and the Black Ferns’ performance against the Irish (40-0) adds strength to their contention. But first the schedule: Saturday 13 September New Zealand v South Africa KO 13.00* Canada v Australia KO 16.00 Sunday 14
Here are the results of the Sunday matches: Japan 29 Spain 21 New Zealand 40 Ireland 0 Italy 64 Brazil 3 France 57 South Africa 10 There was only one tight finish, the Sakura overcoming Las Leonas in a dramatic tussle. But even there the losers couldn’t get close enough to gain a bonus point.
Contents 1. Australia v Samoa 2. Scotland v Wales 3. Canada v Fiji 4. France v Italy The RWC organisers wisely decided to restrict matches to the weekend, allowing more people to attend, and giving teams a proper break. That means seven per weekend, and with the big launch at Sunderland on Friday eight between
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