🏉 Women's Rugby WC 2017 | New Zealand vs England | Pre-Match Analysis!

harryp3 (57)in #rugby • 7 years ago (edited)

England eased to a 20-3 victory over France to take their place in the women's rugby world cup final last night in Ireland. The score had been 3-3 at the half, but England displayed their prowess in a powerful second half display scoring 17 points on a wet and miserable night of rugby.

England will now face main rivals New Zealand on Saturday at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast, kicking off at 19:45 BST, in a bid to retain the title that they won against Canada in 2014.

The Black Ferns out-played their semi-final opponents, the USA, running out victors in 45-12 in the first Rugby world cup semi-final earlier in the day.

England showed their defensive ability, keeping an attacking French display scoreless (apart from the single penalty) and I'm sure the ladies will take a huge psycological victory into the final game after a making a massive 50 tackles in the first 15 minutes. The Red Roses have showed their dominance in the line-out throughout this competition, and stole half a dozen French throws in the Semi-final; New Zealand will need to work on countering the impressive England line-out game to get one up on their opponents at the weekend.

The England captain, Sarah Hunter, has insisted that England have aboslutely nothing to fear from the Black Ferns, even though before their final win against Canada the team lost 3 consecutive WC finals against New Zealand. She also stated the incredible belief that she has in the side that beat New Zealand at their home ground back in June;

“This squad is very different. We went down there and got a fantastic result, but as we said before the tournament titles, games and form go out the window and don’t count for anything. The slate is wiped clean for the final on Saturday. Past finals count for nothing.”

My key-player picks from either side:

Portia Woodman | New Zealand

The electric winger, and Olympic 7s medalist, will certainly be one of the key-players for the Black Ferns on the weekend. England survived a ferocious attack rate against France, and New Zealand will have to up their game if they want to break past the England line. A good display from Portia Woodman on the wing would ensure tries galore for New Zealand.

Emily Scarratt | England

The England outside centre showed her quality at the tee against France, kicking two conversions and two penalties. England will have to fight for every point that they can get, and all conversions and penalties will be crucial to the side. Scarratt will also look to showing her attacking might against the Black Ferns.

Keep posted for a match report on Saturday night!

#sports #international #rwc17 #england