The England centre Meg Jones has said not playing in the 2022 Rugby World Cup final is her “superpower” in this year’s tournament, as she prepares for Saturday’s final against Canada. England lost 34-31 to New Zealand three years ago, but it was not a game Jones played in as she was not selected for the tournament.
This final is being held at Twickenham and is set to break the attendance record for a women’s rugby match, with the home of the English game sold out.
Jones said: “I’ve always said my superpower is not being part of that [2022], because it means I don’t carry that on my shoulders, and that gives [me] a different perspective on this tournament.
“It doesn’t matter who we are playing, it will be the exact same energy, the exact same emphasis. We just have to remember it’s 80 minutes of rugby, it’s what we love, so let’s go out there and give it everything. We’ve got one last chance to change the game in England.”
France put England’s defence under huge pressure in Saturday’s semi-final in Bristol but Jones was impressed by the shifts they put in. It was not a perfect performance, though, and the 28-year-old said there is room for improvement.
“I think just a few soft errors,” she said. “We gave them the ball quite a bit so we put them back into the game. If we can retain the ball, which we know we can, we can take a lot of confidence from our defensive sets as well because I think defence is going to win us championships.”
Jones, who scored the try that sealed the win, said the semi-final pressure was exactly what the team needed. “Everyone will have comments on how we play and what the game looks like. But let me tell you, that defensive shift sums us up.
“We’ve got so much heart and desire in this team. We’re enjoying what we’re doing. We’re having fun out there, there are some good celebrations going on. We’re trying to enjoy the game as much as we can. The pressure is already big, we don’t need to make it bigger, so let’s just enjoy it for what it is.”
