The debate over whether the Women’s Rugby World Cup presents a problem of unequal scores is complex. Although we have witnessed attendance records, full stadiums, and the emergence of new stars, we have also seen a series of results with very wide scores.
After England’s 92-3 victory over Samoa, the question resurfaced: What real benefit do both teams get from a match like this?
For England, it was a “lose-lose” situation. Winning by an overwhelming difference was expected, but struggling for victory would have generated criticism. For Samoa, who received 14 tries, the predictable result materialized.
What comes next after such a heavy defeat?
For the “Red Roses”, this victory gave coach John Mitchell a relief in the selection before facing Australia, as well as in the knockout stages, where they are expected to be challenged for the first time.
“Our girls deserve it so much,” said Tomokino.
Ramsey Tomokino
While coach Ramsey was speaking, captain Sui Pauaraisa also felt overwhelmed by emotion. Try telling them this had no meaning. The reality is that this World Cup would always have a series of uneven matches. Samoa’s motto for the week was “Mission: Impossible” in a World Cup where there are only three teams capable of winning the tournament. England has won 29 games in a row. Therefore, when you have Samoa, who did not face a top-tier opponent before the tournament, preparing to face England with vast resources, with 32 professional players to choose from, this is the reality. As Mitchell said during the week, “those countries have to start somewhere”. The key question, however, is what happens next? Because there’s no point in giving Samoa this taste of the World Cup and then sending them back to the sea with the other teams to swim until the next global competition. Therefore, what is needed, for this World Cup to truly be a springboard for the game, is more investment, more competitive matches, continuous access to better coaches, and less self-interest.“So yes, that excited me a little because we had never had that, we had never had the opportunity to play in front of 13,000 people. That contributes to what we are”.
Ramsey Tomokino
Added after that match: “We didn’t play enough matches before the World Cup and we knew it. I don’t want to take away merit from our girls. We know the result and I know people have been talking about whether it’s good for the game or not. But you know, what’s good for the game is that we are here and we can improve.” Sustained attention is the way to go. The impact of uneven matches is usually short-term. These results are largely a small thread in a larger tapestry of a tournament; the matches you remember for the records rather than the legacy. But for those involved and on the wrong side of the scoreboard, these matches mean everything. We saw it after the match at Franklin’s Gardens. These matches are the justification for the effort and existence within rugby.“We have neighboring countries that don’t want to help us,” Tomokino said during the week.
Ramsey Tomokino
But to make progress, they need more days like this. Samoa wanted a try against England. They didn’t get it. But they got their first points of the World Cup when Harmony Vatau scored her penalty in the second half. The unselected players next to the press room celebrated widely, as did the group of Samoan family and friends in front of us. Then they cheered even louder when Emma Sing missed a restart. But the try they so desired escaped them. They will face England again in the future, and they will go for that try again. But you expect that when they meet, we will see some professional players on the Samoa team. And the margin between the teams will be smaller. That would be legacy and progress.“World Rugby gives us great support, but we need more backing and more opportunities,” said Tomokino. “We don’t have days to play.”
Ramsey Tomokino
