WORLD CUP | The Black Ferns and England are set for a championship match, but France and Canada are confident in their abilities to throw the match off
Women’s Rugby World Cup ( Black Ferns ) : Even though the women’s Rugby World Cup final has long been expected to be between England and reigning champions New Zealand, France and Canada have different plans going into Saturday’s semi-finals at Eden Park.
After defeating New Zealand in their past four meetings, including twice during the Black Ferns’ European trip in November, the French are the more probable spoilers.
Coach Thomas Darracq of France is certain that his squad will not be intimidated by playing in the World Cup final in New Zealand, the “spiritual home” of rugby, because of the damage they did to the reputation of the five-time world champions.
Since it is not an autumn tour, he emphasized, “the match at Eden Park will be unusual,” which he noted on Thursday.
A really unforgettable experience. Once you’ve defeated them, you’ll know for sure if the game is playable. If we had lost, though, the game might still be enjoyed by others. But maybe this gives the group a bit more muscle.
Black Ferns
Significant changes were made to the Black Ferns early in the season as a result of New Zealand’s trip of Europe previous year, during which they also suffered heavy defeats at the hands of England on two separate occasions.
The squad was led by Wayne Smith, a former assistant coach for the All Blacks, who implemented a high-tempo running style in an effort to match the relentless forward force of the best European teams.
Smith understands that Saturday’s match against France will be the genuine test for New Zealand after they’ve displayed plenty of offensive flair against weaker opponents throughout the tournament.
He remarked, “As a team, we’ve come to the conclusion that we need to alter our style of play.” As one of my coaches put it, “It’s been quite a large task, and I’ve had very wonderful coaches working with me, and we’re all quite happy of what we’ve done, but now it’s crunch time.”
Back-to-back victorious After dominating the international scene for many years, England faces Canada knowing that a victory would put them in the World Cup final for the sixth time in a row with a 30th straight triumph.
The Red Roses have an effective running game, but they rely more on field position and offensive power, particularly a lineout drive that is almost hard to stop within the law.
However, coach Simon Middleton is anticipating a challenging matchup against a Canada club that likewise takes pleasure in its offensive play.
He predicted that the first few minutes of the game would be rough.
They’ve got a great squad, so we’re in for a big fight on set pieces. We’ve considered a couple other approaches; we’ll see how they pan out.
Canada lost the 2014 final to England’s Red Roses, but coach Kevin Rouet is confident in his team’s ability to pull off an upset if they play to their potential.
It’s as simple as being effective in the scrum and lineouts, he remarked, if you want to win the game.
To counter England’s superior kicking game, “the kicking game especially because we know England is really excellent at it,” and then “if we open the game we have a lot of things to show ourselves.”
