England crush New Zealand to win WXV 1
The best of women's rugby came together at the Go Media Stadium in Auckland on Saturday 4 November, with England's 33-12 win over New Zealand securing them the first ever WXV 1 champions, Canada finishing second and Australia third after excellent wins in the final of the tournament.
England Ladies
New Zealand Ladies
All statistics and data
England won the first ever edition of WXV 1, beating New Zealand 33-12. The win was secured after a first quarter dominated by three tries, allowing England to maintain their record of victories in WXV 1. It is the heaviest defeat the Black Ferns have ever suffered in New Zealand.
start of flight
The Red Roses went straight into attack in ideal conditions at Go Media Mt Smart Stadium, having to be five metres from the goal line after just four minutes. Thanks to a massive boost from their number eight forwards Alex Matthews was able to capitalise on the rally and score, setting the tone for the rest.
Then England did what they are famous for, converting a penalty kick into a try after a throw-in. Lark Atkins-Davies was the beneficiary, adding another try to the four she scored last weekend against Canada.
Points evolution chart
England Women +21 Win
time spent in consideration
78
Minutes spent in the lead
0
98%
Percentage of matches spent in the lead
0%
27%
Ball possession in the last 10 minutes
73%
As if to prove that they were not entirely reliant on their fixed stages, England's next visit to the New Zealand 22 produced some very patient and effective play, creating space for Sarah Bern who dived and increased the lead.
After 26 minutes, the Black Ferns finally scored.
Indeed, it took the Black Ferns 26 minutes to finally get the ball in England’s half, despite some good defending and England almost scoring from the rebound. Only a patch of grass prevented Ellie Kildon from going flat after a superb grazing kick from Holly Aitchison, preventing what could have been a stunning finish.
However, the Black Ferns showed they could bounce back from the slightest mistake, after an attacking move at the back of the England half. The ball was played to Robbie Toye, whose run took it 22 yards out. Two cracks later, a huge opening opened up and Kennedy Simon lifted the bar to score and open up the Black Ferns attack.
Match Summary
0
Penalty kicks
0
144
Ball races
128
Katelyn Vahakolo came on after half-time for New Zealand and made an immediate impact by running the ball through midfield. England defended the line-up well but could not prevent the Black Ferns full-back from collecting and sending Vahakolo into the far corner.
Red roses dominate
The pace of the game was frantic from the start of the second half and England, perhaps mindful of the circumstances of last year’s Rugby World Cup final, were more than happy to take their time with a series of parties to start again shortly afterwards. This allowed them to get close to the goal line thanks to a series of rocks, Morwenna Talling raced into the gap to score a vital try that allowed the English to take the lead largely thanks to Aitchison's conversion.
Fixed stages
83%
% of scrum won
83%
100%
Percentage of results won
85%
100%
% of successful referrals
100%
England dominated the game for the next ten minutes. A long period of defending along the halfway line led to New Zealand committing handball errors, then the Reds struck with efficiency when they had the chance. Once again it was direct play that paid off until Zoe Aldcroft managed to score the try that put the result out of reach for New Zealand.
It was a particularly enjoyable moment for Aldcroft, who missed last year's Rugby World Cup final after sustaining an injury in the warm-up. Kildunne almost had another try, but his excellent finish was again denied by the TMO for an early foul.
The rest of the match was played in the New Zealand half, with the English controlling the pace of the game well. The final whistle led to well-deserved celebrations from the Red Roses, who ended an unbeaten year with another title.
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