New Zealand’s victory in the women’s World Cup rugby union competition on Sunday \u2014 held in their own country \u2014 should be welcomed if only because it signals a triumph for the way the game should be played: fast, running rugby, which showcases the players’ skills and is attractive to watch.<\/p>\n
The Black Ferns, as the team is known, were up against England, a team of huge players, whose main skill harks back to the 1960s: rolling mauls and a slow grinding down of their opponents. It is the worst way to try and win.<\/p>\n
And it is the last style that will inspire anyone to watch the game. It is a defeatist attitude to a game that requires the skills of a soccer player and also those of a track athlete. It is a poor tribute to a game where communication between players, most of the time without a word spoken, is simply surprising.<\/p>\n
New Zealand’s women should be lauded for attracting a record crowd of 42,579 to the final (indeed, for any women’s rugby game) in Auckland. One must bear in mind that these women have been paid as professionals for just a year; England, on the other hand, went professional three years ago and have registered 30 victories, including two over New Zealand last year, after that.<\/p>\n
Predictably, England coach Simon Middleton tried to blame the defeat partly on the referee, Scotswoman Hollie Davidson, who made a 17th minute decision to send off England winger Lydia Thompson after a sickening head clash with her opposite number, Portia Woodman.<\/p>\n
Middleton claimed that a similar penalty should have been given to New Zealand’s Kennedy Simon for a 65th minute head clash with England winger, Abby Dow. Simon was given a yellow card by Davidson.<\/p>\n
England coaches are known for their whinging when they lose and nothing could be further from the truth. The Thompson-Woodman head clash was at the same level for both, straight on. In Simon’s case, the initial contact was with Dow’s shoulder and it then slid up to the head.<\/p>\n
In any case, even if Middleton was speaking the truth, Simon would have been off the field only for 15 minutes while Thompson was out for 63 minutes. Anyone with the IQ of a common cockroach could work out which ban would have greater effect.
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