BRING POPCORN – WORLD CUP CRACKERS!
It’s time to go again, says Helen M Jerome, as the Rugby World Cup reaches its second weekend across England.
You could barely draw breath during the first exhilarating weekend of the Rugby World Cup, with games coming fast and furious across all four pools. Excitingly, we saw the Red Roses’ Ellie Kildunne confirm why she was voted World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year as England lassoed then took apart USA’s Eagles 69-7 before a record crowd.
There were determined performances from the minnows and debutantes in the tournament, like Brazil against South Africa, Spain against New Zealand, and Japan against Ireland. Yet even though the injury-hit Kiwis – with Portia Woodman-Wickliffe as super-sub – played the last part of their match against Spain with just 13 players, they still ran in with a 52-8 victory.
Key matches on the second weekend look like USA v Australia in England’s Pool A at 7.30pm in York and on the BBC iPlayer, and Wales v Canada in Pool B at high noon in Salford on the same day, and live on BBC Two. Another rugby insider reckons that Scotland v Fiji – at 2.45pm on Saturday and also at Salford and on BBC Two – could be a cracker, with contrasting styles on show.
Badly Bruised
After a bruising 38-8 defeat by Scotland, Wales captain Bethan Lewis says that the best thing about rugby and nature of the tournament is “we go again this weekend. And we’ve put a lot of wrongs right this week.”
Wales head coach Sean Lynn adds that they didn’t have “that physicality” against the Scots, but know what’s required against Canada, the second highest ranked team in the world right now. “They love the offloading game, and they’ve got very good athletes in the forward pack and also in the back line,” he says. “We just need to make sure defensively, we are making the most in our one-on-one tackles.”
For Australia, they can regain sixth place if they beat the USA by more than 15 points. But a draw would be enough to drop Australia below an Italy side victorious over South Africa – though that feels unlikely. Defeat for Australia would see their opponents, USA become the higher ranked of the two with the Wallaroos dropping to ninth. So much at stake, not just in Pool A.
Lark Descending
England’s Red Roses make huge changes, with only two players keeping the places as the squad is rotated. Captain Zoe Aldcroft’s knee injury sees her sidelined until at least the knockout rounds, with Marlie Packer taking the armband, and lassoing star Kildunne ready to come off the bench if needed against Samoa.
The fresh front row looks just as threatening as those they replace, with Sarah Bern, Kelsey Clifford and the impressive Lark Atkin-Davies stepping up. Emma Sing starts as full-back, and there are World Cup debuts for Lilli Ives Campion and Abi Burton.
By contrast, Scotland have made just one change for their tie with Fiji – even though they’ve never been beaten by them. The Scots swatted Wales aside in their opening game, buoyed up by the crowd, as captain Rachel Malcolm explains: “It quite honestly took my breath away walking off the bus and seeing and hearing the Scotland fans around us and we literally walked into the changing room and every single person was like ‘right, I’m ready to go now’, because it was just so inspiring.”
When Ireland take on Spain, their iconic prop Linda Djougang should win her 50th test cap for Ireland, and it feels like the Irish could build on their 42-14 victory over Japan – before their ultimate Pool C test against current World Cup holders, New Zealand, the following weekend.
Grab your popcorn (and your virtual lasso)!
