The three main contenders to win the trophy at Twickenham next month came through their opening group matches at the Rugby World Cup with dominant scorelines but far from perfect performances. England, the hosts, thrashed USA 69-7, Canada overcame Fiji 65-7 and New Zealand beat a resolute and determined Spain 54-8. Have any of them emerged as clear favourites? Let’s take a look at each performance.
The Red Roses admitted they had room for improvement with two particular areas letting them down: restarts and handling errors. When the England head coach, John Mitchell, was asked about the restarts he said: “There is always something to work on, this game is never finite. We will move that into the next preparation. It’s good that we’ve got something to work on.”
There were many things that went right for England, with the scrum a particular highlight. The props Maud Muir and Hannah Botterman had standout games and the player of the match, Ellie Kildunne, was superb again, a touch off her knee in the buildup to one of England’s 11 tries displayed her growing skill set. So while it was a little bit of a rusty start, the Red Roses have the makings of a team who can grow through this tournament.
It was a similar story for the defending champions, New Zealand, but with a key difference in that Spain gave them a lot of headaches. Their defence was excellent at times, giving the Black Ferns little space, though as soon as they were given an inch, they took a mile – particularly through Jorja Miller, who is one to watch.
One of the main takeaways from New Zealand’s performance was their adaptability. After being blighted with injuries, they finished with 13 players and while they did concede a try in that time, remained resolute in defence. There is positive news on the injuries. The back-row Kaipo Olsen-Baker, who missed the last tournament with injury, had to be helped off with an ankle problem but scans revealed no fracture. Olsen-Baker is awaiting further assessment on when she can return. The wing Ayesha Leti‑I’iga also came off with an ankle injury and the centre Amy du Plessis sustained a shoulder issue. Both are also being assessed but all three are travelling with the Black Ferns squad to Exeter for their next match against Japan.
The injuries were not the only frustrating part of New Zealand’s day. Handling errors disrupted their flow and in the early stages it felt like they were forcing passes rather than being patient. Those errors should be easily fixed.
A positive for the Black Ferns was their goal-kicking. The full-back Renee Holmes kicked seven of eight conversions and while England and Canada’s lead kickers Zoe Harrison and Sophie de Goede were both good from the tee, Holmes looked the most confident.
An interesting element to Canada’s game came with kicking in open play. They leaned into their kicking game more than England and New Zealand. After a few phases if their attack was not progressing, they put boot to ball with a total of 24 kicks from hand. The Red Roses, meanwhile, made 15 kicks from hand and New Zealand 13. Canada’s handling errors were also an issue but did not impact the outcome, mainly thanks to their electric full‑back Julia Schell. Coming into the tournament she had three international tries and tripled that with six in just over 20 second‑half minutes.
Canada’s head coach, Kévin Rouet, was pleased his team have improved their strength in depth. “I am very happy,” he said. “The idea was to have 23 players coming on to the pitch and playing this game and I think we achieved that. We have a very strong bench and they bring a lot of energy. We know if we want to win the World Cup we can’t make the same mistake as we did three years ago, we need depth and everybody involved in the project which is very important for us.”
France may not be the main contenders for the trophy but they have a chance and they began with a 24-0 victory against Italy. Les Bleues did not produce their usual flair but they do have star scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus to welcome back after her ban. It will be interesting to see how they go, with their form perhaps the most unpredictable in the tournament.
England remain firm favourites thanks to their 28-match winning run and the fact they are hosts, but the main contenders look on par with each other, which can only make the tournament all the more exciting.
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