New Zealand claim their sixth title against England (34-31)

New Zealand won, at home, its sixth world title in women’s rugby on Saturday, at Eden Park in Auckland, after struggling to beat England (34-31) in an impressive and intense final.

This new victory of the “black ferns”, in a match played by eleven attempts, stopped at the same time the string of thirty consecutive successes of the “red roses”, first in the world rankings. Their most recent defeat dates back to July 2019 against… New Zealand.

And so Ruby Toy’s teammates retained their title, which they won in 2017 against … England, world champions in 2014.

The bronze medal in the competition went to France, which had defeated Canada (36-0) just before, during a one-way match.

In an intense encounter, in a rain of tries, New Zealand and England put on a show: rugby, with suspense, tension and action, to the delight of over 42,000 spectators at Eden Park.

With unlucky players on either side, Emily Scarratt on the England side and Renee Holmes on the New Zealand side, each side could only rely on their most attacking players, mainly attackers for the ‘Red Roses’ and ‘Black Fern’ backs.