England captain Sarah Hunter fought back tears as she discussed England’s heartbreaking World Cup final loss to New Zealand, but the main emotion she conveyed afterwards was not sadness. It was because of pride.
For 80 minutes, I took pride in leading a team that gave everything they had in pursuit of greatness.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Red Roses Defeated Springboks In Rugby World Cup Game
And pride in knowing that, in pursuit of their goal, they were a part of a game-changing night for women’s rugby and women’s sport in general.
This summer, England’s footballers had their moment of glory, and the Red Roses knew it was their turn next.
Unlike the Lionesses, they were unable to bring home the cup. But, like their football counterparts, they have made their point.
The standard of the Rugby World Cup final cannot be overstated. There were 11 attempts. The game appeared to be decided several times before the record 42,579 crowd was stunned by yet another U-turn.
New Zealand appeared to be on their way to victory after taking a three-point lead with nine minutes remaining. But then England had a line-out, from which they had scored 24 of their previous 38 tries. The clock had turned red, but there was still time for one more.
It did not work this time. The highest jumper was New Zealand’s Joanah Ngan-Woo, and the Black Ferns, as they had done in 2017 and three previous finals, broke English hearts.
Despite another crushing defeat, the Red Roses can already see themselves as part of history.
