RUGBY UNION - WOMEN
2021
Womens 6 Nations Final - France (6) @ (10) England - England won the Women's Six Nations for the 3rd year in a row with a hard-fought final win against France at the Twickenham Stoop. Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic that restricted travel, the tournament ended with a Final and the 2 best teams fought it out for the Championship. England scored the only try of the game with the last play of the 1st half to go into the break with a 7-0 lead, then overcame a strong France attack and their own mistakes to hold on and claim the title. The England try came from Poppy Cleall with Emily Scarratt adding a conversion and a match-sealing penalty. The France points came from 2 penalties from Caroline Drouin (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Orchard/Hunt/Monye, PAL)
2022
Womens 6 Nations - England (24) @ (12) France - England won their 4th title in a row and extended their test match win streak to 23 games with a tough, hard-fought win in Bayonne. Both teams came into the game unbeaten and chasing a Grand Slam. England used an unstoppable rolling maul and ill-discipline from the French to build a 21-7 half-time lead, then held off a strong France fight-back in the 2nd half to take the win. The England tries came from Sarah Bern (2) and Abbie Ward with Captain Emily Scarratt kicking 9 points. The France tries came from Romane Menager and Annaelle Deshayes (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Orchard/Burford/Moore, PAL)
Womens Rugby World Cup Pool C - England (13) v (7) France - England remained unbeaten in Pool C with a tough, hard-fought win against France in Whangarei, New Zealand. With the win, England extended their win streak to 27 games. England dominated the 1st half (69% territory and 73% possession), but could only manage a 10-0 lead at the half as France made 127 tackles to keep England at bay. In the 2nd half, after England made a raft of substitutions, France put the English under a lot of pressure but couldn't find the winning score and England held on for the win. The England try came from Emily Scarratt and England also featured captain Sarah Hunter. The France try came from Gaelle Hermet (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Mullins/Spencer, PAL)
Womens Rugby World Cup Quarter Final - England (41) v (5) Australia - In a torrential rain-storm at the Waitakere Stadium in Auckland, England dominated Australia to book a place in the Semi-Finals. England coped the better with the terrible conditions in the 1st half, and went in at the break with a 19-5 lead. As the rain eased in the 2nd half, England added 22 unanswered points and coasted home to the win. The England tries came from captain Sarah Hunter, Marlie Packer (3), Abbie Ward, Amy Cokayne and Alex Matthews. The Australia try came from Emily Chancellor (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Mullins/Spencer, PAL)
Womens Rugby World Cup Semi-Final - England (26) v (19) Canada - England booked a place in their 6th straight World Cup Final with a tight win over Canada at Eden Park in Auckland. A see-saw 1st half saw England take a 3-point lead in at the half. But 10 unanswered points at the start of the 2nd half, including a stunning length of the field try, put England ahead for good and they held on for the win. The England tries came from Marlie Packer and Abby Dow (2). Emily Scarratt added 11 points with the boot. The Canada tries came from Karen Paquin, Alysha Corrigan and Tyson Beukeboom (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Mullins/Spencer, PAL)
Womens Rugby World Cup Semi-Final - New Zealand (25) v (24) France - In a sensational finish at Eden Park, New Zealand booked a place in the Final but needed a last-minute missed penalty from France to do so. France had the better of the 1st half and led 17-10 at the break. But the Black Ferns fought back and held a 1 point lead inside the final minute when France won a Penalty. Unfortunately, flyhalf Caroline Drouin missed the kick and New Zealand held on for the win. The New Zealand tries came from Stacey Fluhler, Ruby Tui and Theresa Fitzpatrick. The France tries came from Marine Menager (2) and Gabrielle Vernier (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Hammond/Taylor, PAL)
Womens Rugby World Cup Final - England (31) v (34) New Zealand - Both teams played out a great advert for Womens Rugby, as New Zealand won their 6th World Cup in front of a record crowd for a women's game of 42,579 at Eden Park. The loss ended England's record 30-Test winning streak. England played the majority of the game with 14 players after Lydia Thompson was shown a red card in the 18th minute, but only trailed by 3 points as the game entered the final minute. With England 5-yards out from the Kiwis try-line, they went for a line-out and the game-winning try, but the throw was stolen by the Black Ferns and the Kiwis celebrated the win. The New Zealand tries came from Georgia Ponsonby, Ayesha Leti-I'iga (2), Amy Rule, Stacey Fluhler and Krystal Murray. The England tries came from Ellie Kildunne, Amy Cokayne (3) and Marlie Packer (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Mullins/Spencer/Tuttiett, PAL)
2023
Womens 6 Nations - France (33) @ (38) England - In front of a record women's crowd of 58,498 at Twickenham, England claimed their 5th Six Nations title in a row. England dominated the 1st half and took a 33-0 lead in at the half, but, bizarrely, France out-scored England 33-5 in the 2nd half to almost cause the upset before running out of time to complete the comeback. The England tries came from Abby Dow, Marlie Packer,Alex Matthews, Zoe Aldcroft, Lark Davies and a Penalty try. The France tries came from Emilie Boulard, Gabrielle Vernier, Charlotte Escudero, Emeline Gros and Cyrielle Banet (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Orchard//Daley-McLean/Moore, PAL)
2024
Womens Friendly - New Zealand (12) @ (24) England - In front of 41,523 fans at the newly-named Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, England comfortably defeated world champions New Zealand in a friendly, 24-12. A hard-fought 1st half saw England go in at the break leading 17-0. A sloppy 2nd half from both sides saw New Zealand fight back but England comfortably saw out the game to win their 17th straight game. The England tries came from Marlie Packer, Abby Dow, Ellie Kildunne and Natasha Hunt. The New Zealand tries came from Katelyn Vaha'akolo (2) (9, No Pre-Game, 2 Discs, BBC - Orchard/Daley-McLean, PAL)
2025
6 Nations - France (42) @ (43) England - In one of the great games of the Tournament, England won their 7th straight 6-Nations title, and their 25th consecutive game, with a sensational win over France at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. England ran out to a 31-7 lead midway through the 1st half, but France roared back and scored in the last minute of the game to pull within 1 point, before running out of time to complete the comeback. The England tries came from Abby Dow (2), Emma Sing (2), Lark Atkin-Davies, Claudia MacDonald and captain Zoe Aldcroft. The France tries came from Cala Arbez, Pauline Bourdon Sansus, Marine Menager, Kelly Arbey, Morgane Bourgeois and Joanna Grisez (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Orchard/Moore/Daley-McLean, PAL)
Rugby World Cup Pool A - England (69) v (7) USA - In front of a record crowd for a World Cup match of 42,723 in Sunderland, England opened the World Cup with an impressive win over the USA. England scored 11 tries in the game, running out to a 28-7 lead at the half, and coasted home in the 2nd half by scoring 41 unanswered points. The England tries came from Sadia Kabeya, Hannah Botterman, Maud Muir, Elle Kildunne (2), Abby Dow, Amy Cokayne, Jess Breach (2) and Lark Atkin-Davies (2). The USA try came from Erica Jarrell-Searcy. USA also featured Ilona Maher (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Orchard/Moore/Daley-McLean, PAL)
Rugby World Cup Semi-Final - New Zealand (19) v (34) Canada - In a big upset at Ashton Gate in Bristol, Canada stunned the holders New Zealand to book a place in their 2nd World Cup Final. The defeat was New Zealand's first in the World Cup in 11 years. Canada started fast and ran out to a sensational 24-7 lead at the half. And when they scored again straight after the re-start, the game was over for the Kiwis. The Canada tries came from Justine Pelletier, Asia Hogan-Rochester, Florence Symonds, Sophie De Goede and Alex Tessier with De Goede kicking 9 points as well. The New Zealand tries came from Tanya Kalounivale, Liana Mikaele-Tu'u and Braxton Sorensen-McGee (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Thomas/Caplice/Tuttiett, PAL)
Rugby World Cup Semi-Final - England (35) v (17) France - England overcame a tough France team at Ashton Gate in Bristol to book their place in a 7th successive Women's Rugby World Cup final. France were up for the fight in the 1st half and only trailed 7-5 at the break, but England blew the game open in the 2nd half as their bench took control and saw out the game and booked their place in the Final. The England tries came from Ellie Kildunne (2), Amy Cokayne, Abbie Ward and Meg Jones. The France tries came from Nassira Konde (2) and Kelly Arbey (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Orchard/Moore/Daley-McLean, PAL)
Rugby World Cup Final - England (33) v (13) Canada - In front of a record women's rugby crowd of 81,885 at Twickenham, England won the World Cup for the 3rd time, and the first since 2014, with a dominant win against Canada. The win extended England's win streak to 33 games. Canada opened the scoring in the 5th minute, but England recovered to score 21 unanswered points and take control of the game. Despite a brief fightback by Canada, England re-asserted control and held on to win and take the title. The England tries came from Ellie Kildunne, Amy Cokayne, Alex Matthews (2) and Abbie Ward with Zoe Harrison kicking 8 points. The Canada tries both came from Asia Hogan-Rochester. Canada also featured newly-crowned world player of the year Sophie de Goede. Discs 1 and 2 are the game. Disc 3 is the Victory Celebration at Battersea Power Station (30 mins) and a review of England's run to the title (30 mins) (9, 3 Discs, BBC - Orchard/Moore/Daley-McLean, PAL)