You can keep the 92 points England scored. Let’s talk about Samoa’s three. It’s been 11 years since Samoa recorded a point in a World Cup match. They didn’t qualify for the tournaments in 2017 or 2021, and they were whitewashed 73-0 by Australia in the first round of this one on the opening weekend. So Franklin’s Gardens fell awfully quiet when the team won a scrum penalty just inside England’s half in the 42nd minute, 32m out, and straight in front of the posts. Everyone knew what was at stake in that next moment, and it was a hell of a lot more than cutting three points off England’s lead.
Samoa had Glory. She was playing prop forward. And they had Faith. She was packing down at hooker. Now they had hope, too. What they didn’t have was any time, or money. And it takes both to play like the Red Roses do.
It takes time and money to scrum like that, to run through the endless drills, and pay for the coaches, analysts, and strength and conditioning coaches who help them learn how to do it. It takes time and money to learn their set-piece routines, time and money to develop the team cohesion which underpins their intricate attacking patterns and defensive plays they use. It takes time and money to learn to kick the ball like Helena Rowland, or to throw it in the wet like Lucy Packer, or handle it like Jade Shekells and Megan Jones.
“Our girls have worked really hard to be here,” he said. “To walk off the bus and be applauded like that, we’ve never had that, we’ve never had the opportunity to play in front of 14,000 like we did tonight, and our girls deserve it.” He broke down crying as he spoke. “I know there was a worry that England’s score could get to triple figures, and I know people have been talking about whether that is good for the game or not, but I think what’s good for the game is that we’re here and we’re getting better.”
All they want is a fair shot, just like the one they took to score those three points. “We’ve been longing to be part of a professional competition for some time,” Tomokino said. “I know if we get given these same opportunities we will be a far stronger team. I long for the day where the competition for the women is like it is for the men, the sooner we can get to there, the better.”
