England missed the Women’s Rugby Super Series title as New Zealand recorded a 28-13 victory in San Diego.
Unbeaten England had to avoid defeat against the sector champions, who misplaced France as their third fit.
The Black Ferns, who beat England in the 2017 World Cup final, led 15-10 at half of the time after two attempts from center Renee Wickliffe.
The pressurized once more after the wreck, and Wickliffe completed a hat-trick to ensure they remained world number one. England were 10-three beforehand after 9 minutes, while Emily Scarratt gathered a Zoe Harrison skip and powered over earlier than converting the try. But New Zealand scored two times in 3 minutes, Kendra Cocksedge evading a series of tackles and finding Wickliffe, who went over inside the nook. Wickliffe then intercepted a loose pass to score unopposed.
England had trailed at half-time in their previous suits, 5 zero against Canada and 18-5 against France. Still, they may discover no way through towards their bodily opponents, who worked the ball smartly with Theresa Fitzpatrick freeing Wickliffe to finish a nice hat-trick.
Scrum-half of Cocksedge, winning her 51st cap, turned into excellent form with the boot, landing 5 of her six kicks as England slipped to their seventh defeat in 8 against the ambitious international champions.
The 2007 Rugby World Cup in France proved just how big rugby is. Spectator figures for the live championship bashed through the 2 million barriers in true rugby form for the first time in the tournament’s history, according to the sport’s ruling body, the International Rugby Board (IRB). An estimated 4.2 billion television viewers were glued to their T.V. screens during the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Television coverage doubled worldwide in Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Asia. There wasn’t any doubt that television viewers in South Africa and the entire southern hemisphere would be responsible for a giant megawatt spike during the championship. Still, there was a surprise that the broadcast viewings shot up dramatically in Russia, India, Canada, and the USA, proving that rugby is hitting the global market in a major way.
And no wonder. Both the pool stages and the knock-out rounds at the 2007 Rugby World Cup were exceptionally high-standard, gripping fans with megawatt levels of intensity. The fight and skill played out on the pitch were relentless. Rugby is a game with complex psychology that requires the tactics to match and, of course, the “will kill” studded with great punch-ups, stomping, eye-gouging, etc., that make it like no other game on earth.
If 2007 was anything to go by, the world could expect the perfect rugby storm to hit New Zealand in 2011.
After months of speculation about whether the number of participating teams would be reduced to 16, the IRB announced on Friday, November 30th, 2007, that the 2011 Rugby World Cup tournament would again feature 20 teams. Twelve teams have already qualified by finishing in the top 3 in each pool in the 2007 tournament, leaving eight qualifying berths up for grabs. Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, and Wales have qualified thus far.
There are sure to be many twists and turns between now and 2011. Three long years stand between us and the championship – plenty of time for heavy arsenals to be built. The 2011 World Cup is set to be an all-out war.
Before the inaugural Rugby World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand in May and June of 1987, there were only regional international rugby union competitions. Although the Rugby World Cup is a relatively recent event, the raw, complex, and beautiful game of rugby has been around for a long time. The legendary “Six Nations Championship” began in 1883 as the “Home Nations” championship between England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. In 1910, the “Home Nations” became the “Five Nations,” and France stepped across the Channel to join the tournament. From 1931 to 1939, France did not participate, and the championship again became the “Home Nations.” In 2000, Italy joined to make it the “Six Nations.”
