Hang on to your cowboy hats. England are into the Rugby World Cup final against Canada next Saturday and the tournament organisers can breathe again. Had the Red Roses slipped up in the semis the prospect of a finale likely to yield a record TV audience in Quebec was not quite the dream scenario they had been praying for.
But, goodness, the Red Roses made their fans perspire at times. At no stage did France ever back down and, without two scintillating tries from their curly haired golden girl Ellie Kildunne, England might have had a far less enjoyable afternoon. The final scoreline does not reflect how tight the game was for lengthy periods, nor the costly chances that France were crucially unable to convert.
As a result the vast majority of the 80,000-plus punters bound for Twickenham now have the final they craved and England’s smiling post-match lap to thank their adoring public will not be their last such procession. If Kildunne can sparkle like this again in the final, furthermore, the prospect of England being crowned world champions for the first time since 2014 will be duly enhanced.
Kildunne is certainly box office in anybody’s language. From the opening minutes she was already dancing and skipping past a host of defenders, clearly keen to make up for lost time having been forced to sit out the Scotland game. And then, courtesy of a loose ruck ball which should have resulted in England being penalised for accidental offside, the recent world player of the year was handed another opportunity just on halfway. Away she surged and, 50 metres later, the gleeful dive behind the posts mirrored the joy around most of the stadium.
Her second-half effort, also from more than 40 metres and involving a diagonal surge past more powerless opponents, brought the house down again at a stage of the game when England needed a fresh spark from somewhere. Because, let’s face it, if you keep Kildunne quiet and shut down England’s scrum and maul the Red Roses can look rather more mortal than they would like.
Both those mission statements, admittedly, are big ‘ifs’ and in the final analysis France could not quite tick both boxes for the entire 80 minutes. England, not least in the form of Hannah Botterman and Meg Jones, also have others who relish a big occasion and have the ability to produce their absolute best when it really matters. But will Canada’s finest spend this week downcast and devoid of hope? Hardly.
France, for their part, will now face New Zealand in the bronze final nursing a frustrating sense of deja vu. En route to their 2003 men’s triumph England were due to meet France in the semi-final with a close encounter widely anticipated. But come the day of the match, when the French players pulled back their bedroom curtains in beachside Bondi, there were already raindrops on their windows. Instinctively Les Bleus began to fear the worst.
The forecast had been similar for Bristol this time. England’s forwards love a rainy night almost as much as Eddie Rabbit once did. And as they showed against Scotland in the quarter-final on this same stretch of grass, a stop-start, scrum-heavy contest is a perfect one as far as this Red Rose pack are concerned. Particularly in a big knockout fixture with no prizes for artistic merit.
As it turned out the predicted rain drifted away and, in drying conditions, France were frequently compelling. At scrum-half the brilliant Pauline Bourdon Sansus played beautifully and the loping Madoussou Fall Raclot was everywhere. England spent so long without the ball that, at half-time, they had collectively made 107 tackles to France’s 28.
The majority of the first-half champagne moments were of French origin, too. Twice they were within one more pass of registering cracking tries but first Marine Ménager failed to find the unmarked Léa Champon inside her and then Gaby Vernier’s looping long pass to Ménager drifted forward with the line begging. Had they taken both gilt-edged chances, who knows?
England’s steely defence, though, bails them out of tight corners on a regular basis. Before this game the highest number of points they had conceded in a single match all tournament was eight against Scotland last weekend. England’s bench depth also remains another obvious plus. They have the luxury of replacing one outstanding front row with another and, once again, their ‘finishers’ added a significant gloss to the scoreboard.
But will it be enough for them to win the game of their lives on Saturday? World Cup glory can never be guaranteed, even for a host nation who haven’t lost a game for three years. And on the evidence of this weekend they will also have do it the hard way given their sternest test undoubtedly still awaits. How good were Canada on Friday night as they shredded the supposedly indomitable Black Ferns? More than good enough, if given the chance, to turn lofty English ambition into the sweetest maple syrup.
