Eng Women Rugby lose RWC to New Zealand

By Kath 22/9/06
September 22 2006

England Women's Rugby can be very proud of their excellent performance against the New Zealand Black Ferns. England's women were so close they could almost touch the Rugby World Cup. A round up of their reactions....

England Women came so close to winning the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup!

England 17 New Zealand 25

England came within touching distance of becoming the first ever nation to hold both the men’s and the women’s Rugby World Cup titles following a gallant team display at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada.   Geoff Richards’ side were just three points adrift of New Zealand when an injury-time try for New Zealand full-back Amiria Marsh sealed a phenomenal third consecutive World Cup final win for the Black Ferns.

England, however, can hold their heads up high with a performance that easily ranked as not only the most pulsating match of the tournament, but also a tremendous advertisement for women’s rugby as a whole.   The Red Roses certainly had the Black Ferns, who’d cruised into the final conceding only 17 points in four matches, rattled from the very first whistle.

England head coach Richards said: “I’m not disappointed with the performance. I am disappointed with the result. Our players were absolutely magnificent. They gave it everything they had.  

“We wanted to pressurise New Zealand up-front, take the game to them and deny them any space and we did that for most of the game. Unfortunately, we were unable to convert all the territory we had into points. We were the far better side in the first-half but we went down 10-3 at the break because of that reason.

“After the break we clawed our way back to 20-17 and we still had hope. It was a magnificent performance from the team after the early New Zealand try. The players just refused to give up and showed phenomenal spirit and determination.   “Despite the result I am so proud of our players, the management team and all our supporters who have come out to Canada as well as all those at home. Everyone has been magnificent.

“From here, we’ll regroup. We’ve got an exciting young crop of players coming through, some of whom were here today. We have the system in place and our programmes are producing rugby players who can take on the best in the world.”

 

England   1 Rochelle Clark (Henley), 2 Amy Garnett (Saracens), 3 Vanessa Gray (Wasps), 4 Jennifer Sutton (Richmond), 5 Jenny Lyne (Saracens), 6 Georgia Stevens (Clifton), 7 Margaret Alphonsi (Saracens), 8 Catherine Spencer (Folkestone), 9 Jo Yapp (Worcester) (Captain), 10 Karen Andrew (Saracens), 11 Kim Shaylor (Worcester), 12 Kim Oliver (Clifton), 13 Sue Day (Wasps) (Vice Captain), 14 Danielle Waterman (Henley), 15 Charlotte Barras (Lichfield). Replacements: 16 Selena Rudge (Wasps), 17 Vanessa Huxford (Wasps), 18 Tamara Taylor (Thirsk), 19 Helen Clayton (Saracens), 20 Amy Turner (Wasps), 21 Shelley Rae (Wasps), 22 Nicky Crawford (Worcester).

New Zealand  1 Diane Maliukaetau, 2 Farah Palmer (C), 3 Casey Robertson, 4 Monalisa Codling, 5 Victoria Heighway, 6 Melissa Ruscoe, 7 Rochelle Martin, 8 Linda Itunu, 9 Emma Jensen, 10 Anna Richards, 11 Stephanie Mortimer, 12 Exia Edwards, 13 Huriana Manuel, 14 Claire Richardson, 15 Amiria Marsh.

Replacements: 16 Fiao'o Fa'amausili, 17 Helen Vaaga, 18 Kimberly Smith,19 Shannon Willoughby, 20 Waimania Teddy, 21 Rebecca Hull, 22 Hannah Myers.

***********************************************

England Women’s reaction to 25-17 defeat to New Zealand in the final of the IRB Rugby World Cup

 

England skipper and Worcester player Jo Yapp said: “We went into this game as the underdogs but we were really confident we could take the game to them and really believed we could win. It was such a close game with both sides fighting for 80 minutes and unfortunately we didn’t come out on top. We had a lot of pressure in the first-half and unfortunately we couldn’t put the points on the board. That hit us hard after the restart and they came out and scored straight away. However, the girls worked hard for the full 80 minutes and we did everything we possibility could. It was a tough game and you can’t take anything away from the performance of the England girls. This was a fantastic final for people to watch and it’s brilliant that we have had such tremendous support in Canada and at home. We can’t thank our supporters enough really and I am just sorry we couldn’t deliver it on the day for them.”

 

England and Clifton player Georgia Stevens said: “We couldn’t have done anything more to win this final today. I feel really emotional because I am obviously absolutely devastated we lost but I also feel we played one of the best games of our lives and I am just so proud of the girls. We all said before we came out today that, yes the Black Ferns are an awesome side, but if we went out there and played to the best of our ability we had nothing to lose and that’s exactly what we did. After their second try straight after the break we still were never going to give up even though that was a tremendous blow. We had complete faith in our fitness and our preparation. That’s gave us tremendous confidence even when we went down two scores. We certainly had the belief that we could claw our way back in the game and that is what we did. Even at the death we knew we still had a chance. Unfortunately time ran out on us. For me, this is my last game for England and it will take a lot of getting over but I am just pleased that this game has been a fantastic finale to a great World Cup.”

 

England and Lichfield player Charlotte Barras said: “We just wanted get the basics right today because against New Zealand, if you give them the ball, they will punish you. We wanted to look after our own ball and when we had it, push them hard and we did manage that a lot of the time. Despite losing the match this was a very enjoyable game to partake in and certainly a great advertisement for women’s rugby. That was probably as good as it gets.”

 

England and Saracens player Karen Andrew said: “This was a fantastic final. Both teams put everything they had into this match. We had a great start and it’s just a shame that we didn’t put the pressure into points. That’s probably our biggest regret as we were dominating for most of the first-half. All credit to New Zealand for their early second-half try, but we didn’t give up. We were camped on their try-line and came so close. “

 

England and Wasps player Sue Day said: “We expected it to be tight and it certainly was. We should be very proud of our performance because everyone had a great game. It is hard when we haven’t come away with the World Cup win, but credit to New Zealand they were fantastic and this was a wonderful game of women’s rugby. We knew we were the underdogs going into the game and that we had nothing to lose and hopefully we have made everyone supporting England proud. We certainly won’t take consolation in finishing second, but it will motivate England into working even harder.”

 

England and Thirsk player Tamara Taylor: “Everyone is very disappointed; we could not have tried any harder both on and off the pitch but today it has not gone our way. It was a great game to watch and it is great that everyone at home has been able to watch it, but it is unfortunate the result didn’t go our way. After the way we had dominated I really thought we would be in front by half-time but they got a try just before the break and then another early doors after the restart. Possession wise we were all over them, but unfortunately we didn’t turn the pressure into points. It shows tremendous team spirit in the way we kept fighting. We are certainly getting closer and closer to beating the New Zealanders and in four years time I expect to be here again in the final and hopefully lifting that World Cup trophy.”

 

England and Wasps player Vanessa Gray said: “I am absolutely devastated. We have waited a long time for this and we haven’t achieved our goal. We tried out best and threw everything at it, but today it just didn’t swing our way. This has to be the best ever women’s rugby game. We showed how we can scrummage and our line-outs where fantastic. Unfortunately that wasn’t reflected on the score-board when the final whistle blew.”

 

England and Saracens player Helen Clayton said: “I am very disappointed, gutted in fact. We gave it our all but we could not finish it. In terms of percentage we had most of the possession, but the difference was they took their chances and it paid off for them. Everyone in this team gave it 100 percent. We beat them in the pack and we shut down their key players. For me, this was my final game as an England player. I am retiring but we will be there in 2010 and we will be fighting as hard as we can. There is a great future for women’s rugby in England. We have a great structure and support and we have some great players coming through. Our future is bright even if today it’s a bit dark!”

 

Rosie Williams, Managing Director of the RFUW, said: “This is such a disappointing result considering the players put every ounce of effort they had on to the pitch. The team were magnificent but unfortunately it didn’t pay off on the scoreboard. This has certainly been the best game of women’s rugby I’ve ever seen and that is a credit to both teams. The gap between us and New Zealand is certainly getting smaller. However, we couldn’t have got this far without the support of our clubs, and our supporters. I know they will be disappointed but we can now only work harder to get the result next time.”