They think it’s all over. And finally, for England’s women, it is now. The last time the Red Roses lifted the World Cup was 11 years ago and defeat on home turf in front of a world-record 81,885 crowd would have been beyond devastating. Hence the tears of relief and shared collective joy at the final whistle as they finally brought the big one home.
Among other things this trophy has brought them the validation they dearly wanted and, in truth, needed. Since the introduction of full-time professional contracts in 2019, the Red Roses have won 74 of the 76 matches they have contested. The number of registered female participants in Canadian rugby would barely fill half of England’s towering citadel.
You could tell it was a full-fat Twickenham occasion hours earlier because the matchday traffic was suitably appalling. But the novelty value more than made up for such minor inconveniences. Sophie Lloyd and her electric guitar ripped it up before kick-off, the now-familiar strains of Livin’ on a Prayer were dialled up to 11 and the pre-game noise levels were up there with anything this venue has recently known.
Even the celebs wanted a piece of it all. Justin “Red” Rose sent a message from the Ryder Cup, the Lioness Lucy Bronze was in the crowd and royal best wishes arrived from the palace. Shania Twain, sadly, had a prior engagement and couldn’t make it but, most important of all, Canada turned up big-time out on the field. When they scored the afternoon’s first try through Asia Hogan-Rochester, the same thought flashed through the mind of every English fan. They couldn’t, could they?
Unfortunately for Canada, it was also only half the story. While individual brilliance catches the eye, collective power is even harder to counter. England’s secondary shove in the scrums gave their opponents due warning from the outset and when they did make it into the Canada 22 their maul was its usual formidable weapon. The hungry caterpillar rarely lets England down and made the difference again here.
Canada could have enlisted every strapping lumberjack in British Columbia and still wouldn’t have stopped the inevitable rumbles that laid the platform for England’s second and third tries and, later on, the two crucial second-half scrum penalties that snuffed out Canada’s comeback. Every time the physical effort took a little bit more out of the legs of Canada’s forwards and made it that little bit harder for them to gallop freely elsewhere.
Back on at half-time, predictably, came Bon Jovi’s tantalising message – “We’re half-way the-re!” – but surely it would now take Shania, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé and Rush in their collective heydays to change the contest’s prevailing tune? Particularly when Abbie Ward drove ferociously low and hard for her side’s fourth, reinforcing her reputation as the toughest mother in the land.
Canada’s gallant mini-fightback, in the circumstances, was even more praiseworthy. For this World Cup they have had to launch a million-dollar crowd-funding drive, supported by among others the Canadian band the Tragically Hip. By the time the next tournament comes around in Australia in 2029, you can only hope that more women’s teams are better funded and more sides are in a position to challenge England’s supreme queens.
