Women’s Rugby World Cup Final Recap

therookiereporters
Sep 28
3 min read

Updated: Sep 30

(Image Credit to @rugbyworldcup on Instagram)

As we reached the peak of this prestigious tournament and neared the end of these fantastic Women’s International Rugby Matches, let’s go over what went down in the finals match between the Maple Leaves and the Red Roses.

First Half

(Image Credit to @rugbycanada on Instagram)

With Canada averaging four tries in each first half of their World Cup matches, the Red Roses have had their work cut out for them this final. We witnessed many lost passes from Canada. A missed lineout from England meant Hogan-Rochester scored in under 5 minutes; however, De Geode’s conversion bounced off the post, denying a seven-point advantage. Ellie Kildunne came back to sprint to the try line, having dodged Canadian defence two minutes later, with Harrison scoring the conversion. An amazing break from England nearly gave them another try, but a knock on denied them these points. The Red Roses' strong drive in a maul got them another try from Cokayne and another conversion. A great foot chase from Abby Dow gave England an advantage, leading to an offside from Canada which gave a scrum; however, Canada was standing up in the scrum, giving another advantage.

(Image Credit to @redrosesrugby on Instagram)

We then had a TMO Review for a try; however, it was held up, preventing Breach from scoring. An offside from Canada gave a scrum; however, Canada was standing up in the scrum, giving yet another advantage. Alex Matthews managed the third try after a successful English scrum, while Zoe brought her kicking boots to make it 3 for 3 in conversions. A mistake from England gave the Maple Leaves a huge gain; however, Kildunne gave a mark after catching the kick. After England not releasing the ball, De Goede took the penalty and scored 3 points. Hannah Botterman did her thing and stole the ball, getting an English lineout. Cokayne took her second try in a maul, but a TMO Review handed an obstruction, so Canada was rewarded a penalty. Botterman is once again on fire at the breakdowns to steal the ball again. Heading into halftime, the scoreboard is: 8-21.

Second Half

A fantastic first half, which gave us a lot of entertainment and heart-racing action, was continued with the second half of the prestigious match. A phenomenal kick from Tessier gave Canada a lineout, but it was stolen by Ward and kicked into Canada’s half by Harrison. A steal from Cokayne after Canada’s line out led to a speedy run from Kildunne and an English line out. A miscommunication from the Maple Leafs resulted in a messy attempted recovery that gave England a lineout. After many phases pushing to Canada’s try line, taking out a player left England with a scrum in front of the goal. A fourth try for England by Bristol’s Abby Ward was a great way to continue their momentum and a move which took the scoreboard to 8-26. Zoe Harrison uncharacteristically missed the conversion; however, she still delivered an incredible performance.

Hannah Botterman was given a yellow card for a dangerous tackle after slamming Paquin down to the ground. Hogan-Rochester blistered her way through for her second try but Sophie didn’t manage the conversion. Apps had a fantastic run and kick, which resulted in Ellie Kildunne giving another mark. With Botterman back on the pitch, the pendulum swung back to the Red Roses with an enormous scrum win with England ploughing down the Maple Leafs. Matthews made it two at 68 minutes from Kildunne’s spiral kick which Apps didn’t manage to get control of, and Harrison added to England’s lead, making it 13-33. Canada began to give some scrappy play as their desperation to score became evident. After 12 phases and consistent hard work, they tired and gave a loose ball in the back field.

Sadia Kabeya won the Mastercard Player of the Match. The clock was against the Maple Leafs, and the Red Roses ran down the time to ultimately take their very well deserved win and to become champions, after facing defeats in their last two finals.