Sunday 19 March 2023

Lewes v Manchester United at 12.30pm on BBC iPlayer and The FA Player
Birmingham City v Brighton & Hove Albion at 2pm on The FA Player
Reading v Chelsea at 2pm on The FA Player
Aston Villa v Manchester City at 6pm on The FA Player

Tickets for this year’s Final on Sunday 14 May at Wembley Stadium Connected by EE can be purchased here. For accessible tickets please call 0800 093 0824.

Category Pricing
Category 1 – £30
Category 2 – £25
Category 3 – £15
Concession (OAP/Student) – £10
Junior (Under 16) – £5
Group Adult (9+) – £15

With thanks to the FA

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.

• The eight teams to have earned a spot in the quarter-finals of Rugby World Cup 2021 have been decided following a thrilling climax to the pool phase this weekend
• The quarter-final line-up sees France v Italy and New Zealand v Wales on Saturday, 29 October at Northland Events Centre in Whangārei, followed by England v Australia and Canada v USA on Sunday, 30 October at Waitākere Stadium in Auckland
• The winners of next weekend’s matches will meet in the semi-finals on Saturday, 5 November at Eden Park while losing teams will be eliminated from the tournament
• Tickets are still available from just NZ$5 for kids and NZ$10 for adults* at tickets2021.rugbyworldcup.com

The quarter-final draw for Rugby World Cup 2021 was announced on Sunday after a thrilling pool phase final round determined the eight teams who remain in the hunt to lift the coveted trophy in New Zealand.

At the end of the pool phase, the eight teams that have made the quarter-finals were ranked from one to eight based on their results, with the three pool winners seeded first to third, runners-up fourth to sixth and the two best third-placed teams seventh and eighth.

The eight teams who have progressed through to the knockout phase, in order of their seedings, are: New Zealand, Canada, England, France, Italy, Australia, USA and Wales.

The Rugby World Cup 2021 tournament format sees the top seeds play the eighth in the quarter-finals, the second seeds face the seventh, third play sixth and fourth meet fifth.

Whangārei’s Northland Events Centre is expected to once again draw a packed crowd when it hosts the first two quarter-finals with France v Italy at 16:30 local time (GMT+13) followed by hosts New Zealand v Wales at 19:30.

Saturday’s triple-header saw 16, 571 fans at the Northland Events Centre – the largest attendance at a sports event at the venue since the British and Irish Lions tour in 2017 – fill the stadium to witness the Black Ferns defeat Scotland.

Auckland’s Waitākere Stadium will then host the remaining two quarter-finals on Sunday, with England v Australia at 13:30 local time, followed by Canada v USA at 16:30.

The winners will progress to the semi-finals at Eden Park on Saturday, 5 November, while the losing teams will return home.

The winner of England v Australia will take on either Canada or the USA in the first semi-final at 16:30, with the victor of New Zealand v Wales facing either France or Italy in the second semi-final at 19:30 local time.

It is the first time Italy have reached a Rugby World Cup quarter-final – men’s or women’s – and welcome news for the group of passionate supporters who have joined them in New Zealand to watch their journey.

Rugby World Cup debutants Fiji along with Japan, Scotland and South Africa head home after failing to gain enough points to progress beyond the pool phase..

Tickets are still available starting from just NZ$5 for kids and NZ$10 for adults*. For more information and to purchase tickets go to tickets2021.rugbyworldcup.com.

*Prices applicable to cash purchases made through Ticketek agents or outlets. Online purchases may attract additional payment processing and delivery fees.

With thanks to World Rugby

Yankey also spoke on how Spain’s attack will threaten a so far untested England defence and Beth Mead’s Golden Boot potential. You can read the full column here.

On who should start for England Rachel Yankey said: “You look at [Alessia] Russo’s impact off the bench. The two headers in each game are fantastic but the touch and finish for her second against Northern Ireland, anyone would be proud of that. It was a great goal.

 “I would still start with Ellen White against Spain but it’s a team game and England have really good starters and finishers.

 “You could quite easily play Russo over White and she would do a fantastic job. Equally, I know Beth England hasn’t played a minute yet but she could quite easily come into this team. She’s really suited to our style of play with the way that the wingers get crosses in. I hope she gets an opportunity to get on the pitch to prove how good she is.”

Her view on on Spain’s attack testing England’s defence:  “The only worry for me at the moment is the fact that England haven’t really been tested at the back.

“Northern Ireland have probably done that the most and certainly had some opportunities. They broke away and found gaps in England’s defence. Against Spain, who are a team who love to play in between those gaps in defence and midfield, England need to make sure they are totally switched on – not that they haven’t been so far!”

And on Beth Mead going for Golden Boot:  “I know she will have eyes on the Golden Boot, but I hope she just keeps playing the way has been doing.

“She was always going to be a contender for the award because she’s a great finisher. But whatever her mindset was going into the tournament, I hope that doesn’t change because it’s been refreshing so far.

“Sometimes you can get distracted when people talk about breaking records and awards and it can put too much pressure on her. I just want to see her play and keep performing because she looks like she’s having fun out there, which is a real positive for England.”

Rachel Yankey was speaking to LiveScore. To read her full column, click here.

Lead photo shows Rachel Yankey, OBE posing for a photograph with her WSL Hall of Fame award at Wembley Stadium on September 29, 2021 in London, England. 

Germany v France is perhaps the pick of the ties with both teams hitting form, Germany have in their side the two leading scorers of the tournament so far; Anja Mittag and Celia Sasic and they will be determined to add to their tally, will the French team be able to, not only, contain the talented Germans but score themselves?

Can Australia, the surprise package, prevent the holders from progressing? How will England cope against the home favourites, a packed stadium and partisan crowd?  This coming weekend all will be revealed.

The Quarter Final draw is as follows:

Game 45 – 21.00 – 26 June – China v USA

Game 46 – 00.30 – 26 June – Germany v France

Game 47 – 21.00 – 27 June – Australia v Japan

Game 48 – 00.30 – 28 June – England v Canada

All Quarter Final matches to be played on 12 April 2015, full draw as follows:

Arsenal Ladies v Chelsea

Notts County Ladies v Aston Villa Ladies

Everton Ladies v Charlton Athletic LFC

Manchester City WFC v Birmingham City LFC

Photo above shows Notts County’s Ellen White