Semi finals: England edge titanic battle
By Duncan Wood
From Twickenham Stoop
Job done for England, who confirmed their place in Sunday's
Women's Rugby World Cup 2010 final against New Zealand, but
Gary Street's side were made to work awfully hard for their
15-0 win over Australia.
For the best part of an hour, based on a huge forward
dominance, England pummelled the Wallaroos time and again. Yet
there has never yet been an Australian sporting side that will
throw in the towel and today was no exception.
England will wonder how they only scored 12 points until a late
penalty settled the nerves but it was down to individual errors
from the home side and superb spirit and defence from the visitors.
England had some scary moments in the final quarter and will
know that they will have to step it up a gear if they are to deny
the Black Ferns a fourth crown.
Kicking duel
The tension was palpable in the opening stages and
the crowd at the Stoop were treated to something of a rarity in
this tournament - a tactical kicking duel.
Finally keeping the ball in hand, England centre Alice
Richardson almost blasted her way clear with a break from first
receiver but the England pack muscled their way to the first try
with skipper Catherine Spencer just making the line after a
powerful five metre scrum after only seven minutes.
England looked composed and also seemingly determined to play
the game in the Australia half with fly half Katy McLean kicking
astutely and pinning the Wallaroos back.
Australia struggled to get out of their own half while
England winger Fiona Pocock enjoyed two good breaks, although the
second was halted by a shuddering try-saving hit from Nicole Beck.
Pocock was shaken and receiving treatment but her team mates
stayed focussed and Amy Turner gave Danielle Waterman just enough
room to score on the blindside. 12-0 after 23 minutes was a
promising start for the home side.
The Wallaroos were far from done though and gave the England
defence a good work out as the game went past the half hour mark
before a steal from Maggie Alphonsi relieved the pressure.
As half time approached, the England pack went for the
jugular as a powerful catch and drive almost fashioned a try for
scrum half Amy Turner but the ball squirted loose in the act of
touching down as the Wallaroos creaked but made it to half time
still in touch.
England on top after break
The England pack duly picked up where they left off
and the Wallaroos eight were definitely on the back foot. England
huffed and puffed, but a lack of precision and some excellent
defence prevented any further addition to the score in the opening
minutes.
Indeed, the Wallaroos' work in defence seemed to inspire
the visitors as they began to work their way back into the game.
As Australia started to threaten, a slight air of anxiety
crept around the Stoop and Danielle Waterman had to put in a
tremendous defensive tackle to half the flying Beck.
Momentum was certainly with the Wallaroos and Heather
Fisher's yellow card on 68 minutes gave them further hope. Down
to 14, England were stretched but hanging on.
England weathered the storm and were thankful for a late
McLean penalty to clinch the win. But there will be lots for them
to think about ahead of Sunday's big game against New Zealand.
POST MATCH REACTION
England flanker Maggie Alphonsi: "I don't
think I can ever question their effort, they have always given
everything they have got and possibly tonight we got pretty close
but in fairness the English defended very well and looked after
that start they got in the second half.
"I did say at half time to be 12-0 down without the ball
basically for probably 35 minutes was encouraging and certainly the
fact that if we could get ball we would do ok. We looked pretty
good for a while there with the ball but we just couldn't get
that try."
Australia coach John Manenti: "I don't
think I can ever question their effort, they have always given
everything they have got and possibly tonight we got pretty close
but in fairness the English defended very well and looked after
that start they got in the second half.
"I did say at half time to be 12-0 down without the ball
basically for probably 35 minutes was encouraging and certainly the
fact that if we could get ball we would do ok. We looked pretty
good for a while there with the ball but we just couldn't get
that try."
Australia captain Cheryl Soon: "It was a very
tough day at the office, we did the best that we could but it just
wasn't enough in the end. We weren't going to go down
without a fight. We said from the start we weren't going to
give up no matter what happened.
"I thought our defence was absolutely courageous - we held
them out. I don't think the scoreline was an indication of how
the game actually went. It could have been a lot higher, but that
just shows how courageous we are in our defence. We're Aussie
battlers and we never give up.
"Inexperience let us down in the end; we don't have
a lot of Test matches. If we did, I think we'd be taking the
cup home. We just need more Test matches, ideally against New
Zealand, South Africa - a mini Tri Nations would be nice."
