Canada (Commonwealth) _ England defeated New Zealand nine tries to gain a step closer to keeping their WXV1 crown in Canada. They did this with a masterful attacking performance.
While back-row teammates Abby Dow and Ellie Kildunne each scored two tries, wing Jess Breach scored a hat-trick in British Columbia. After defeating the world champions three times in less than a year, John Mitchell’s team’s winning streak now stands at 19 games. The home World Cup is quickly approaching.
When England launched its merciless attack, the Black Ferns, led by number eight Kaipo Olsen-Baker, were unable to stop them. After every Red Roses back three scored a try, winger Ayesha Leti-L’iga crossed the goal line in reply.
In the second half, Natasha Hunt scored first, followed by Breach’s hat-trick and Zoe Harrison’s tenth try for England. Meanwhile, Georgia Ponsonby, Maia Roos, and Maama Vaipulu added some respectability to the New Zealand tally.
England had not lost a Test match for a record thirty years until losing to the Black Ferns in a thrilling World Cup final in 2022. The WXV1 title decider takes place next Sunday (03:00 BST) and pits Mitchell’s team against the unbeaten hosts, Canada.
It is New Zealand’s third consecutive loss after an unexpected setback to Ireland last weekend, and they face a challenging match against France on Saturday. New Zealand has lost twice to Mitchell’s team since defeating England in a thrilling 2022 World Cup final, the most recent being in a pre-WXV warm-up at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium last month.
Despite starting the match quickly, the world champions failed to convert their momentum into points. Olsen-Baker made sure not to make the same error by tackling Hunt, rewarding his wise choice to go for the scrum instead of taking the points in front of the posts.
In that September Allianz game, Dow scored a magnificent solo try and once more demonstrated to the world champions why they cannot afford to give her time and space, eluding Renee Holmes to score in the corner.
An obvious difference in the approach taken by previous coach Simon Middleton is the attempt to play expansively, hoping to win more possession of the ball for England’s deadly back three.
The females are really on it when they’re feeling it. According to Mitchell, “they are a very special group and they were on it for large parts of that game.” It was excellent to see that we fulfilled our obligation and quality regarding our previous pass today.
After an easy finish for Breach in the corner, the ball swiftly went out to Kildunne, who got outside the defense to gallop away and expand her lead as the stylistic differences become more pronounced as Test rugby’s leading try-scorer to 13.
The new attacking framework was evident throughout the Six Nations and the nine-try opening WXV1 triumph over the United States; nevertheless, handling errors stopped the style from fully taking off.
New Zealand had suffered four straight defeats going into their home World Cup in 2022—two from England and two from France. A 16-game winning streak and a home World Cup victory ensued, and before the World Cup the following year, a similar pattern might manifest itself.
And Allan Bunting’s team did appear to be a serious threat at times against the Red Roses’ outstanding second half, frequently crossing the line but falling short of the same level of clinical edge.
No team this year had ever defeated the world champions with more than 21 points, even in the absence of that advantage. Mitchell continued, “New Zealand will improve, they always do between World Cups.”
“However, I have to give my group credit since two weeks ago we gave them a great performance and we set goals for ourselves on how we might become better. Today is a wonderful illustration of progress.
The next meeting might take place in a World Cup final in London in 2025, which is probably when Mitchell’s Red Roses will finally find success. The world champions’ free-flowing offence can now be matched by the tournament hosts; thus, the Black Ferns may need to reconsider their strategy to win the World Cup.
