Wins for Big guns as Bok women get World Cup lesson

WORLD CUP WRAP: Hot favourites England opened their women’s Rugby World Cup campaign in imperious style by crushing Fiji 84-19 while France were also convincing winners over South Africa on day one on Saturday.

Hosts New Zealand had to battle back from 0-17 down to record an opening 41-17 win against Australia at Eden Park.

England extended their unbeaten run to 26 matches and scored their most points in a World Cup game, but only after surviving early fireworks from the Fijians and taking a tight 24-14 advantage into halftime.

The ninth edition of the tournament opened with two entertaining affairs, with fellow European heavyweights France earlier scoring six tries to dispatch South Africa 40-5.

A triple-header of matches was to conclude at Eden Park when defending champions New Zealand face Australia.

By that stage, the crowd is expected to swell to a capacity 40 000, a record for any women’s rugby match.

Six Nations champions England left little doubt they will be the team to beat at the 12-nation tournament, unleashing a mix of speed and power in a match that brought together the highest- and lowest-ranked teams.

Claudia MacDonald scored four tries while fellow winger Lydia Thompson bagged a double in what was a record World Cup points haul for the English, surpassing their 82-0 demolition of Kazakhstan in 2010.

But Thompson admitted it had been a sluggish first half by England’s high standards, before they let loose after the break.

“We’ve got a lot to reflect on, Fiji really came at us and gave us a really good match,” she said, after her side racked up 14 tries.

“We went back to basics, to what England are known for, which is set piece and earning the right to go wide.

“I think we’re really pleased but it’s good to shake off some of those nerves.”

There were signs of rust from England in the first spell, with Fiji’s expressive style regularly puncturing holes in the defence and creating tries to wingers Alowesi Nakoci and Vitalina Naikore.

However, the game Pacific Island outfit barely saw the ball in the second half, conceding six tries in the third quarter, unable to combat the precision of the world’s top-ranked side.

The most memorable England try went to reserve winger Abby Dow, playing her first Test since breaking her leg against Wales in April.

 ‘Big start’

In the opening game of the tournament, France started and finished strongly in a victory based around the class of their halves pairing.

Scrum-half Laure Sansus – named player of the tournament in this year’s Six Nations – crossed twice while fly-half Caroline Drouinas scored a try and set up two others with exquisite short kicks.

The fourth-ranked French raced 19-0 ahead against South Africa inside the opening quarter but were kept scoreless for 50 minutes before a late flurry.

A physical South African side were rewarded for periods of dominance through a try to winger Nomawethu Mabenge before France created three late tries, including a score after the final hooter to winger Joanna Grisez.

France captain Celine Ferer said her side struggled at times with the size of their opponents and may have been daunted by the occasion.

“We’re in a mythical stadium, maybe a little bit of pressure to be in a magnificent stadium like this and it’s the first match,” she said.

“We are very happy. We put on 40 points and we wanted to make a big start today.”

The comeback 

A record crowd in Auckland were stunned into silence as Bienne Terita (two) and Ivania Wong touched down to give the Wallaroos a 17-0 lead inside half an hour.

The Black Ferns hit back before half-time through Joanah Ngan-Woo and Portia Woodman, and the latter would go on to complete her hat-trick in the second half.

Awhina Tangen-Wainohu and Ruby Tui (twice) also crossed the whitewash after the break as the Black Ferns confirmed a bonus-point victory at Eden Park.

The Wallaroos had never beaten the Black Ferns in 22 previous tests but started the match in determined mood as they attempted to spoil the party at Eden Park.

Australia kept their opponents pinned inside their own half in the early exchanges and were only denied a try by some brilliant defence from New Zealand winger Tui.

The Black Ferns’ resolve broke in the 14th minute, when Terita stretched over in the right corner for her first try of RWC 2021.

Within 120 seconds, the Wallaroos’ lead was 12-0 as Wong scored a breakaway try. Terita then grabbed her second of the match to give her side a three-score lead with less than 28 minutes on the clock.

New Zealand had failed to land a punch up until that point but in the closing 10 minutes of the first half, Wayne Smith’s side found some form.

First, Ngan-Woo stretched out from close range to get them on the board, following great work from Pip Love and Stacey Fluhler. Then, Portia Woodman displayed her power and pace to dot down in the left corner.

The Black Ferns were still five points adrift at the break, but that deficit was erased within two minutes of the restart as Woodman crossed for a second time.

Arabella McKenzie had an opportunity to edge the Wallaroos back in front but struck the right post with her penalty and the match then swung firmly in the Black Ferns’ favour.

In the passage of play that followed the missed kick, the Wallaroos lost both Ivania Wong and captain Shannon Parry to the sin bin.

During the 10 minutes the Australian pair were off the field, the hosts scored twice as replacement prop Tangen-Wainohu powered over from close range and Woodman then crossed for a third time, following a slick offload from Fluhler.

Australia were soon back up to 15 players but they were unable to prevent their opponents adding another two tries, both scored by Tui, the second of which was a sublime solo effort.

South Africa 5 – 40 France

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try: Nomawethu Mabenge

For France:
Tries: Laure Sansus 2, Gabrielle Vernier, Emilie Boulard, Caroline Drouin, Joanna Grisez
Cons: Caroline Drouin 2, Lina Queyroi 3

Fiji 19 – 84 England

For Fiji:
Tries: Alowesi Nakoci, Sesenieli Donu, Lavena Cavuru
Cons: Lavena Cavuru 2

For England:
Tries: Claudia Macdonald 4, Amy Cokayne 2, Abbie Ward, Helena Rowland, Zoe Aldcroft, Lydia Thompson 2, Abby Dow, Leanne Infante, Connie Powell
Cons: Emily Scarratt 5, Zoe Harrison 2

Australia 17 – 41 New Zealand

For Australia:
Tries: Bienne Terita 2, Ivania Wong
Con: Arabella McKenzie

For New Zealand:
Tries: Joanah Ngan-Woo, Portia Woodman 3, Awhina Tangen-Wainohu, Ruby Tui 2
Cons: Kendra Cocksedge, Renee Holmes 2

Source: AFP & World Rugby