Criticise us all you want...I’m here to win a World Cup
ZOE HARRISON has been a student of the game for as long as she can remember so it is perhaps no surprise she has impressed as a guiding light for the red roses in new Zealand. Playing behind a dominant pack always helps a no 10 as Harrison rightly acknowledges. But at 24 and at her first World Cup, her ascent to the highest level couldn’t have gone much better. Despite her tender years, Harrison is england’s chief controller and will be so again in tonight’s semi-final with Canada at auckland’s eden Park. ‘When i was younger i watched a lot of rugby for fun and then when i got into the Premiership, i had to learn how to game manage,’ Harrison told Sportsmail. ‘That’s when i started to watch men’s rugby as another way of learning.
‘I play at saracens so i watch owen Farrell all the time. i’m lucky my brother and kicking coach are both 10s and can constantly teach me. i’m able to learn from them.’ Harrison still works closely with her brother — who played a League rugby for Wasps — as well as kicking coach Josh sharp. she is also guided by england head coach simon Middleton who has led the red roses to 29 straight wins. That record-breaking winning run is set to extend to 30 matches against Canada and would set up a final with either hosts new Zealand or France. ‘Zoe has a great temperament,’ said Middleton. ‘it’s a heck of a burden playing at 10 in terms of the responsibility and tactically driving the team around. ‘she’s very relaxed when she plays and sometimes even more relaxed when she trains.
‘I can’t praise her and the young kids enough. They’ve got a massive weight on their shoulders and they take it in their stride. ‘What we’ve seen with Zoe is how she’s really stepped up into a leadership role in this competition — she’s got a real voice within the squad. That takes a little bit of time to generate.’ england have led the charge of women’s rugby into professionalism since the RFU first handed out full-time contracts to its female players in 2019.
The red roses are the world’s dominant force and have reaped the rewards of being able to spend long periods together. That much has been made clear in new Zealand where the clarity and effectiveness of their approach has been more than obvious.
When former fly-half, captain and World Cup winner Katy Daley-McLean retired in 2020, england were left without an experienced playmaker. Harrison has more than filled the void.
‘It’s not just me making up the gameplan. We’ve got leaders in the group, we discuss what needs to be done, and it’s being put on the pitch well,’ she argued. ‘everyone is constantly on the same page. a good example is the France game. everyone knew what to do. That was the toughest game we’ve faced so far. ‘We know each other really well now. We’ve been professional for three years and you can see the
results of that in this tournament. The men don’t spend that much time together.’
Although England’s forward-dominated style has been criticised, Harrison (right) has stood her ground: ‘I don’t care if people have got a problem. If I’m going to win a World Cup, I don’t care if you’re going to criticise it because I’ll have got a World Cup in my hand.’
Middleton has described Harrison as the best tactical kicker in the female game and she has impressed in that facet in New Zealand in particular. Sarah Hunter, England’s captain and most capped player of all time, has seen hundreds of players come and go in 15 years of Test rugby so is more than qualified to assess Harrison’s promise. She said: ‘Zoe has done tremendously.
‘As a 10 you have to run the game and have the confidence to do it. She’s certainly come into her own on that.
‘She’s got years ahead of her to develop into an even better player.’
ENGLAND: Rowland; Dow, Scarratt, Heard, MacDonald; Harrison, Infante; Botterman, Cokayne, Bern; Aldcroft, Ward; Matthews, Packer, Hunter (capt).
CANADA: Alarie; Grant, Corrigan, Kaljuvee, Farries; Tessier, Pelletier; DeMerchant, Tuttosi, Menin; Holtkamp, Hunt; Forteza, Paquin, De Goede (capt).