Skipper salutes ‘special group’
England captain Sarah Hunter saluted a “special group” of Red Roses after the heartbreak of yesterday’s World Cup final defeat to New Zealand.
England went down 34-31, having played more than an hour with 14 on the field after Lydia Thompson was sent off in the 18th minute.
Despite facing the tournament hosts in front of a sold-out Eden Park a player down, Hunter was convinced her side, who led for much of the match, would find a way to come out on top.
She said: “I had absolute belief that they would do it. There was never any doubt that we wouldn’t find a way to win.
“There was no panic, we just had absolute faith in what we were doing. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out our way.
“We’re as one.
We win together and lose together.
There is no blame culture in this team. We’re all accountable for whether we win or lose.
“This is a very special group and we can be immensely proud of what we have done as a team over these last eight weeks.
“One game doesn’t define you.” A frantic first half, overseen by Scottish referee Hollie Davidson, saw seven tries and England led 26-19 at the break.
Second-half tries from Stacey Fluhler and Krystal Murray fired the Black Ferns ahead and, although Amy Cokayne’s hattrick try edged England back in front, Ayesha Leti-I’iga finished off a fine move late in the game for what proved to be the match-winning try.
IRELAND 35 FIJI 17 Nick Timoney claimed two tries as Ireland overcome a sloppy start yesterday to prolong their fine form courtesy of a disjointed Dublin victory over indisciplined Fiji.
Robert Baloucoune, Mack Hansen and Cian Healy were also on the scoresheet at the Aviva Stadium to help rugby’s topranked nation back up victory over world champions South Africa.
Andy Farrell’s much-changed side were well below their free-flowing best and forced to come from behind following Kalaveti Ravouvou’s fine opener, before conceding an outstanding consolation score to Simione Kuruvoli.
Despite a fragmented display featuring opportunities for a handful of fringe players, the stuttering Irish were never in serious danger of slipping to a first defeat to the Pacific islanders as they warmed up for next weekend’s showdown with Australia in victorious fashion.
WALES 20 ARGENTINA 13
Wales got their Autumn Nations Series campaign back on track by beating Argentina in an arm-wrestle of a Test match at the Principality Stadium.
Just seven days after shipping 55 points against New Zealand, Wales made a strong response as tries from No. 8 Taulupe Faletau and scrum-half Tomos Williams saw them home.
It was a welcome result for Wales head coach Wayne Pivac, who oversaw only a third win this year.
Fly-half Gareth Anscombe kicked two conversions and a penalty, while Rhys Priestland added a second-half penalty as Wales turned the screw.