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

If you wanted extreme drama, you could view the men’s World Cup final in Paris or enjoy a trip around the world to take in the final rites of WXV2 and 3.

USA v Italy

The final minutes of WXV2 could not have been tenser.

Italy were way ahead of USA, so no worries about the final result. It was the other points that mattered, points difference. In an agonising finish all depended on the TMO’s verdict about legal grounding. Italy desperately needed one more score. The replays looked as though the camera was in Row Z. Finally Leo Colgan spotted an Italian obstruction in the build-up, so no try.

Scotland celebrate – photo Johan Rynners – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images

The game went on. The Azzurre continued their all-out attack, but an error had to come, the Eagles defending as if their own lives were at stake.

In the stand were the Scots, hardly daring to watch. It was all a matter of that one final score. Italy were given a penalty. A kick at goal in a strong wind?. Sofia Stefan shouted for help from the stand: which option? They went for a scrum, they flung the ball around like a hot potato. When a knock-on occurred, the Scots erupted with joy; the Italians were crestfallen. The Americans realised they still have a long winding path to regain their past stature.

Now we see that the try scored by Emma Orr in the 79th minute against Japan the day before was the vital act that gave the Scots the trophy.

Watching the Azzurre play gives a lot of pleasure, the number of passes out of the tackle seemed to mount into the hundreds; wild passes were netted as if by the old mail train travelling at 60 mph. It was breathless, but it was helpful not to be an Italian fan, the tension would have been too great.

They scored some quite wonderful tries, involving multiple passing movements, sometimes lateral, sometimes direct. I have long felt they were the side most likely to make the big advance in the Six Nations. With so many newer faces brought into the team by Giovanni Raineri, the future looks bright.

For the Eagles the same bright hopes were dimmed. Their performance seemed to hold out great promise; the pack did well, the backs had their moments, but the lack of time together must be the ultimate deterrent to progress.

From the outside their best bet looks to be for Milton Haig to take over permanently. His initial approach has been to stress the historical aspect of their rugby progress. But it’s what happens on today’s training fields that matters more. If they could afford to bring the most promising players together for a lengthy period in one place – the Chula Vista Center comes to mind – things could advance rapidly. But that is asking for the moon.

For the moment Kate Zackary has to talk modestly about gradual improvements. The talent is most certainly there but not the finances. It’s a familiar story.

Result: USA 8 Italy 30
PotM Sofia Stefan

Referee: Natarsha Ganley (NZR)
ARs: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR) and Zoe Naude (SARU)
TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)

Final table                         W      L     Pts Diff        Pts

Scotland                               3        0         55             15

Italy                                       3        0         53             15

South Africa                        1         2         -6              5

Japan                                   1          2       -22              5

USA                                      1          2       -22             5

Samoa                                 0          3       -58             1

Here we see here the tightness of the results. The weakness of the structure is the arbitrary nature of who plays whom. Teams playing the side that finished bottom were always likely to achieve a better points difference. USA finished fifth solely because of that regulation. They scored one more try than Japan.

As for promotion, Ali Donnelly keeps reminding us (and commentators in particular) that finishing top does not mean automatic promotion. It all depends on 6N finishing spots, and anyway there’s no promotion this year. For the moment the two European sides lie comfortably ahead of their competitors. That is why the WXV came into being.

WXV3

Ireland v Spain

Result: Ireland 15 Spain 13
PotM Dannah O’Brien

It shouldn’t have been like this. Ireland were the odds-on favourites to walk off with the WXV3 trophy. But they were unable to recreate the domination they had known in the two previous rounds. Credit for that must go to Las Leonas, for whom this competition might have been invented. They disrupted Irish plans so much that it was like being back in the last Six Nations: the Girls in Green all over the place, not knowing which way to turn.

This was another agonisingly tight match. Against most expectations – mine certainly – the Irish struggled all through to achieve the narrowest of wins at the last gasp. They were far from the carefree group who had cast away dull care against Kazakhstan and Colombia. But just look at the comparative standings of the opposition.

Now they were fallible, all too often fumbling. It is to their credit that they kept fighting to the final whistle, Sam Monaghan a tower of strength as captain and reliable line-out provider. The young out-half Dannah O’Brien kept the Spaniards beyond arm’s length by the power of her left boot. Now Ireland need to develop a second kicker to vary the pattern. Too many of O’Brien’s kicks failed to find grass; an inside centre using the right boot would have created more uncertainty in Spain’s defensive alignments.

For them Amalia Argudo at full-back had an outstanding game too.

But the fact remains that Ireland were the winners of the championship, and everyone who has shared their unhappiness over the past few years can share their delight.

Overall

The point about arbitrariness (but not promotion!) is even truer of WXV3. There, inevitably, the contrasts were at their greatest. Ireland and Spain fought toe to toe. The huge gap in points difference (172/37) is quite misleading.

Final table                         W      L      Pts Diff         Pts

Ireland                                  3        0          172               14
Fiji                                         2        1           165               11
Spain                                    2         1            37               10
Kenya                                   1         2          -22                 5
Kazakhstan                         1         2         -221                4
Colombia                            0         3         -131                 0

Here the Kazakhs scored fewer points and conceded far more than Colombia, but managed to beat them head-to-head.

For the four non-European nations this tournament will have meant a great deal. They can now return home knowing far better what needs to be done to improve their lot. That goes for the coaches as much as for the players. And they will have enjoyed the camaraderie that playing in a single location has offered them.

As with WXV2, five continents are represented here, another feather in World Rugby cap. But there is a chasm-like disparity in experience, both at World Cup and general test level.

Though Ireland and Kazakhstan both date back to the second RWC of 1994, since then their fortunes have moved in different directions. Forget for a moment Ireland’s troubling woes of the last few years; they at least have been able to indulge in a regular diet of test matches. In stark contrast, since they last appeared at the 2014 RWC, Kazakhstan have been consigned to a backwater.

Spain are the other nation to have suffered setbacks, ever since dropping out of the 6N. But they have the numbers and the organisation to return to their former days of prosperity.

Kenya represent the leading hopes for increased competition from Africa. Though they find the Boks too hot to handle at the moment, they and other nations like Madagascar and Morocco must be long-term contenders for providing a real presence from the continent.

Fiji share with Samoa a lack of frequent international competition. They were very upset at losing the clincher that allowed Samoa Manusina the key to WXV2, but this tournament will provide them with the incentive to continue raising their standards.

Both they and the other leading nations of Oceania, like Tonga and Cook Islands, would be a real threat on the world front if only they could be assured of the facilities and ease of assembly that some tier-one nations enjoy.

South America is represented by Colombia, who proved just good enough to overcme Brazil in a double-pronged qualifier. But beyond them lie a host of other nations who could hope to follow in their footsteps. We have only to think of the success of Argentina’s men’s team to see what is possible for the women’s team.

Prospects

WXV is essentially a long-term project. So while Ireland can be pretty confident of gaining promotion at the earliest opportunity, the other nations will be hoping to follow in their wake. That element of promotion-relegation is another vital element in WXV’s structure. The side finishing sixth will face a play-off against the next nation in ranking order, for the right to take part in next year’s tournament.
So countries not represented here can set their sights on joining in soon. This has the benefit of bucking up the ideas of national boards that have not yet shown 100% support for the women’s game.

We can look forward to surprises and delights right across the programme.

First Round (all matches played at Sevens Stadium, Dubai)

13 October: Fiji v Colombia
13 October: Ireland v Kazakhstan
14 October: Kenya v Spain

Colombia had won the first of the two qualifiers 24-23, so it was as tight as you please. Once more they had the advantage of a home venue, in the heat of the northern city. But above all, their great adventures in previous rounds of the WXV, which saw them travelling across the world, were bound to stand them in good stead.

On two minutes they went ahead with a penalty from in front. (3-0) But Brazil (the ‘Yaras’) had a slight edge at the scrum; almost on the rebound they scattered the Tucanes’ pack, leaving the No 9 Campos an easy passage down the short side to the line. (3-5)

They were quite capable of flowing movements but were handicapped by the usual problems facing amateur sides, avoiding unforced errors.

A couple of penalties against Brazil led to a third in front of the posts, and to the delight of the parasoled crowd, the Tucanes were ahead again. (6-5). The left-wing Arzuaga, who had been so prominent in previous rounds, doing the honours.

Brazil leaked more penalties, but fortunately for them, none was kickable up to the first water-break. (6-5)

An impressive handling move by the Yaras led to an advantage. The No 10 Fioravanti put a grubber through, but it ran too far. Valentin, the right-wing, attempted a kick at goal, but pulled it wide.

Five minutes before the break Soto made a lovely break and weaved her way to the line through. That calmed Toucan nerves.

HALF-TIME 11-5

Straight after the restart Soto was over for her second. Two fierce hand-offs and she crossed on the far left. (16-5)

The game saw two recurrent faults, losing the ball on contact and the unwise pass. Just as Brazil were mounting another raid on the line, the ball was snaffled by No 13 Zurique, and she galloped nearly the length of the pitch. She was hauled down, but there was Soto once more to finish the job. A successful conversion took the Toucans way ahead, 23-5.

Brazil weren’t done for yet. A long touch kick brought them close to the line, but – like so many other teams we have seen – they couldn’t finish the job. Another promising move was undone by an interception, so the final water-break saw the score stuck at 23-5.

On the resumption the Colombian 10 Mejia, whose kicking was important throughout, inserted a long touch-finder to bring her team inside the Yaras 22m. For a while they could stop worrying about defending their own line.

By now the heat and the pace of the game was taking its effect on play. Accuracy suffered, passages of play became scrappy.

But Las Tucanes took advantage of a very deliberate box-kick by Campos to mount a counter-attack. The No 8 Mestra claimed the try as she forced the ball down in triumph. (30-5)

The last few minutes did great credit to the Brazilians; they mounted attack after attack. These led to a series of penalties where they opted for a scrum. In a most unusual finish to the game they scored not one, but two penalty tries as a result of Colombian weaknesses up front.

We had the still unusual sight of the referee standing under the posts to award the try, then at once signalling the end of the game.

Sadly for the visitors, those 14 points couldn’t save the day.

Result: Colombia 30 Brazil 19
Combined scores: 54-42

Teams

Colombia:
T Delgado, Olave, Naranjo, Alvarez, R Delgado, Cuartas, Alcate, Mestra, A Ramirez, Mejia, Zurique, L Soto, Arzuaga, Garcia, Lopera
Bench: Caycedo, Barajas, Cardona, Gutierrez, Hernandez, Sarmiento, I Ramirez, A Soto

Brazil:
Barros, Amorim, Gomes, Santana, Bomfim, Mariano, Medeiros, Coluna (captain), Campos, Fioravanti, Dias, Araujo, Santini, Valente, Bodeman
Bench: Leni, Momberg, Oliveira, Marques, Coimbra, Mayumi, Sarmento, Lopes

Afterthoughts

This win means Colombia become South American champions and qualify for WXV3, alongside Fiji, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Scotland, and the losers of the match between Italy and Spain. They all meet in Dubai starting on 14 October.

So Las Tucanes remain our favourite South American rugby side, but Brazil must be a long-term prospect for success. They have the benefit of a vast population plus fame as a nation of successful athletes. Their present handicap is rugby’s ranking well below that of football, basketball, volleyball and other sports in the nation’s affections, but their Sevens squad has already proved its worth.