It may take many days for them to dry, but England has advanced to the semi-finals of the World Cup. While monsoon rain in Auckland originally made this resemble a game of water polo, the Red Roses were never in danger of losing, and 29 Tests have gone by since their last loss.
To say they made a mess of this, though, would be a literal statement of fact. Even if the first half had taken place in a car wash, it would have been slightly drier for everyone involved. this was not a classic. The organizers deserve credit for playing Rihanna’s “Umbrella” over the public address system during the second half, but the event was otherwise dull.
The conditions were always going to define England’s close-quarters strategy, and rightly so. Knockout rugby is not determined by aesthetics, and today was not the day to chuck the ball around. Even though Marlie Packer scored a hat-trick from close range, England scored seven tries without doing anything particularly exceptional.
Even when accounting for Australia’s staunch opposition and the wet ball, England’s performance was inconsistent at times. While the tenacity of Packer and Abbie Ward, along with the persistent dominance of the Red Roses scrum, was commendable and the Wallaroos spent the majority of the day confined to their half, this young team still has more to offer.
This Saturday, however, it’s onward and upwards to Eden Park. They remain difficult to penetrate on defense, and Packer had another fruitful day at the breakdown. As a result of the clocks being turned back in the United Kingdom, the first half was practically over before it even began. Australia would have benefited from a shorter competition, but stopping England’s massive pack was an arduous challenge.
In the eighth minute, they were unable to stop a thundering drive that resulted in Sarah Hunter, on her record-setting 138th appearance for her country, scoring from a distance of approximately one inch. Emily Scarratt’s conversion made the score 7-0, and it seemed unlikely that England would not score again for some 20 minutes.
It did not help that Zoe Aldcroft was sin-binned for a slightly misjudged clear out, but despite the deluge turning from biblical to steady, the Red Roses were unable to capitalize on their overwhelming territorial advantage until Wallaroos captain Shannon Parry was shown a yellow card.
After holding off a few close-range attacks, the exhausted Australians were unable to stop Packer from being pushed over for another classic English touchdown. All are legal and within the existing rules, of course, but the game’s guardians may need to move to restore a sense of equilibrium to how teams behave within the opposing 22.
The simple expedient of giving the defending team the throw-in if the opposing team chooses to kick for the corner would inspire greater creativity and possibly less close-range headbanging, but might also result in more time-consuming shots on goal or additional scrums. In any direction, the dominant trend is out of control and doing little to promote neutral interest in the game.
However, England may continue regardless and play to their tremendous strength for the time being. There was much to love about Packer’s second try, which was set up by a deft inside pass from Zoe Harrison that sent her teammate on an unstoppable run to the goal line. With the weather drying up, it’s a shame there wasn’t a bit more of that incisiveness unless England is keeping their powder dry on purpose.
They have sufficient firepower for this to be a possibility, but it wasn’t until late in the game when Australia was exhausted and the rain had stopped, that they exerted the kind of ruthless control they would have liked.
On dry days against good opposition, without playing into the hands of expansive opponents like New Zealand, will need to be slightly sharper in both their execution and tempo of play, without playing into the hands of expansive opponents.
Watching the hardworking Ward, the consistent Alex Matthews, and the exuberant Packer score further driven maul tries, England’s future opponents will need to stop them at the source to prevent them from winning their first World Cup since 2014. If the Red Roses continue their current course of action, they will likely emerge victorious. However, if you increase it by two more gears, no one will be able to approach them.
After advancing to the World Cup semi-finals against Canada, England insists they have no plans to alter their forward-heavy game strategy. All seven of their tries against the Wallaroos were produced by their formidable pack, and captain Sarah Hunter and head coach Simon Middleton are certain that their team’s route one strategy offers the best chance of world dominance.
To yet, no team in the competition has been able to counter England’s driving maul strategy. “Much has been said about the driving maul and how we’re scoring tries, but no one will look back and wonder, ‘Oh, how did England score?'” remarked Hunter, the player with the most rugby caps in her country’s history.
“They consider the outcome, and if it isn’t broken, there is no need to fix it. I don’t believe we have any reservations about how we want to play or what we’re doing at the moment. If it is not working, we know we have alternative options.”
Middleton believes that England has nothing for which to apologize and has no need to imitate New Zealand, whose backs seemed exceptionally sharp in their quarterfinal victory over Wales. “It takes all kinds,” emphasized Middleton, whose team has already won 29 consecutive Tests.
“Rugby does not need to consist solely of play, play, play and shift, shift, shift. This is rugby from the southern hemisphere, and it’s wonderful. We represent the northern hemisphere. We are excellent at what we do, and they are excellent at what they do. You play to your abilities, and I don’t understand the criticism.”
Now that the Black Ferns will meet France, he says that the host nation should be considered the tournament favorite. He remarked, “They’re scorching, aren’t they?” “They are on home turf, and they have destroyed everyone. Everyone labels us as the favorites, but they’re not doing anything we’re not, and they’re playing at home. They must be frontrunners in the competition.”
