‘Yes, we lost, but we’re still the best in the world’
Zoe Harrison reveals to Molly Mcelwee that it is still a battle to find positives after England’s harrowing defeat in Auckland
‘By the time the next World Cup comes, we’ll have new faces to bring different aspects of our game’
‘To fill out Twickenham, like the football girls filled out Wembley, that is so good for women’s sport’
Having just experienced one of the lowest feelings they are likely to suffer on a rugby field, the last thing the Red Roses wanted was for the nightmare to play out in front of them again at 35,000ft.
But that is what the England women’s rugby team had to endure on the journey back from New Zealand, when some of them woke from their naps to find their World Cup heartbreak replaying on every television screen on their aeroplane.
Zoe Harrison grimaces as she recalls the moment. It was the evening after the Red Roses had agonisingly missed out on World Cup glory, when the ball was tipped from their grasp within touching distance of the try line in the dying seconds. With that, the world’s top-ranked side’s 30-match winning streak ended, as did their dream of a World Cup crown.
Harrison was the fly-half who opted against a kick potentially to bring England level and force extra time. The 23-hour journey back to home soil felt like cruelly long reflection time, and the in-flight entertainment only exacerbated matters.
“People were desperate, like ‘get me out of here, get me home’ – that was what everyone kept saying,” Harrison says of the return trip. “The men’s T20 final was on TV, so I was watching that, but halfway through there was an alert that said ‘next up is the repeat of the Rugby World Cup final’.
“I turned to Shaunagh [Brown] and said, ‘the amount of TV screens that are going to turn off after this match,’ and they did. They went out like bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang – but a few people that had fallen asleep woke up to it.”
Harrison switched over to a Netflix drama, Gypsy. She has no plans ever to see those 80 minutes again, either. “I don’t really think it needs to be watched back, what more could you say about it?”
Even now, speaking almost a week on from the World Cup final, her mood is understandably sombre. When asked whether she has any fond tournament memories to draw on, ahead of the bleak final result, Harrison struggles to pinpoint a single moment. “I’m so sorry, I’ve literally forgotten the last eight weeks,” she says, before offering up their tournament opener against Fiji – an 84-19 win. “It was some big score, I think a record,” she muses.
That question in itself tells a story. It is an indication of the England team’s blinkered focus on World Cup glory, to the extent that their various record-breaking performances did not even register properly.
Their 14-try tally against Fiji was a tournament record. The 30 consecutive wins recorded up to the final marked a record in international rugby, too. But, headline-making as it was, Harrison is not even sure of that total when asked. They are feats that the players will try to take consolation in now that the dust has settled, she says. “The streak was never ever in anyone’s heads, our focus was on winning a World Cup. I’m still angry and upset, but I have to keep reminding myself of what I’ve done and what the team’s done. It’s stuff we need to keep remembering, as tough as it is. We had fun times and we also played really well.”
Harrison bristles at suggestions their near-indestructible maul made them one-dimensional. “Our driving maul is the best out there, so why wouldn’t we go to it? If you’re playing a Playstation game and that’s your super move, why would you not use it over and over again? When we went to our driving maul [at the end of the final] a lot of the girls thought we were going to win, so did I. It didn’t work out but I would never have changed that decision.”
Then there were calls from pundits, including Telegraph Sport columnist Maggie Alphonsi, for long-time head coach Simon Middleton to step down. England captain Sarah Hunter, 37, also may well not make it to another World Cup, as well as a number of veterans in the squad.
Harrison, 24, says those decisions will be personal ones, but she does not think much needs to change in the dressing room or set-up in order to win the next World Cup. “By the time the next World Cup comes around, we’ll
have new faces to bring different talent and aspects of our game.”
How close they came this time makes it hurt all the more but does not define them, she adds, a hint of defiance in her tone. After everything that happened, does she still believe England are the best team in the world? “Erm,” Harrison says, pausing for a few weighted seconds and then nodding her head. “I would say yeah. That’s what I think. Until anyone breaks that win streak record, you wouldn’t be the best. Until you can hold on to something for so long. It was just unfortunate it didn’t work out for us on the day.
“Hats off to New Zealand, they played great as well and did well to come back from where they were, but I think over the past few years we have worked so hard and it shows.
“The girls in the last few years put so much effort into being what we’ve become. I don’t think anyone can fault us on that. We worked very hard to be the best. Hopefully we can continue winning and we will end up winning the next World Cup.”
The 2025 home tournament will be their next opportunity. In the meantime, the difference they are making off the pitch in drawing in new fans has provided some solace. From the local cafe owner near Harrison’s home, who wordlessly put a huge slab of “comfort cake” on a plate for her when she visited recently, to the young sister of a close friend who is taking up a sport – rugby – for the first time, inspired by the Red Roses. Not to mention the 1.7 million who tuned into ITV at 6.30am for the final.
“We lost the World Cup and thought nothing’s going to come from this and then we’ve come home and the amount of people [that care], it’s a really good feeling. For me, the biggest thing I’m going to do is win the World Cup, as a personal aim, but second to that is growing the women’s game: making sure girls have access to a club close by to them, access to it in school, all of that.”
Looking ahead to 2025, she wants two things prioritised in world rugby: selling out stadiums for every game – even those not involving England – and the professionalisation of national teams beyond the leading countries. “It showed in the Canada game [the semi-final against England] how much fight and determination they have, but they are not fully professional. Imagine what they could do if they were full-time? That would push the standard up earlier on in the tournament.”
In the interim, Harrison has work to do with her club, Saracens, to help ease the hurt of the past couple of weeks. She also wants England to sell out Twickenham – beginning with the Six Nations next spring, when the Red Roses take on France on April 29.
“If we can fill out Twickenham, like the football girls filled out Wembley, that is so good for women’s sport,” she says. “This is where it needs to go. It will be a feisty old game that one. I’m hoping it’s a sell-out. I think that will prove to us how much support we have and what we have done. Imagine 80,000 people, of our own fans – that would be unbelievable.”