The debate over whether the Women’s Rugby World Cup presents a problem of unequal results is complex.
We’ve witnessed record crowds, packed fan zones, and the emergence of new stars, but also a series of lopsided scorelines. Following England’s victory over Samoa (92-3), the question arose again: What real benefit do both teams get from such a match?
For England, it was a “lose-lose” situation. Winning by a wide margin was expected. Struggling for victory would have drawn criticism. For Samoa, they conceded 14 tries and the predicted result materialized.
So, once the defeat is consummated, what’s next?
For the “Red Roses”, this victory gave coach John Mitchell a welcome headache in terms of selection, before facing Australia on Saturday, but also looking ahead to the knockout stages, where they are expected to be challenged for the first time.Samoa celebró y fue muy aplaudida tras anotar sus primeros puntos del torneo.But watching Samoa walk the pitch at Franklin’s Gardens at the end of the match, soaking up the applause, with smiles from ear to ear and tears in their eyes, was to witness a group of players who had already achieved so much just by reaching the World Cup.
They are a team of amateur players, many of whom had to take unpaid leave to participate in this competition. There are six mothers in the group, who left their families behind to face the best players in the world. There are property managers, teachers, and air traffic controllers.
And then we heard how their coach, Ramsey Tomokino, an IT manager, had to pause during his post-match conference to control his emotions when reliving the experience of seeing his team being applauded as they got off the bus when they arrived in Northampton before the match.
“Our girls deserve it so much,” said Tomokino.
Ramsey Tomokino
“Yes, that excited me a bit, 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 TomokinoWhile coach Ramsey was speaking, captain Sui Pauaraisa was also overwhelmed by emotion. She tries to tell them that this was not important.
The reality is that this World Cup was always going to have a series of uneven matches. Samoa’s theme for the week was “Mission: Impossible” in a World Cup where, in reality, there are only a trio of teams capable of winning it. England has won 29 games in a row. Therefore, when you have Samoa, who did not face a top-tier opponent in the period leading up to the tournament, preparing to face an England with many resources, with 32 professional players to choose from, this is the reality.
As Mitchell said during the week, “[those countries] have to start somewhere”.
However, the key question is what will happen 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 little fish to stay afloat until the next world meeting.
Therefore, what this needs, 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.Megan Jones volvió a destacar para Inglaterra con dos ensayos.
“We have neighboring countries that don’t want to help us,” Tomokino said during the week.
Ramsey Tomokino
Added after the 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 ‘is it 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 beatdowns are largely a small thread in a larger tapestry of a tournament; the matches you remember for the records more than for the legacy.
But for those involved and those 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.Denise Aiolupotea fue una de las muchas jugadoras que intercambiaron camisetas después del partido en una muestra de unidad.
“World Rugby gives us great support, but we need more backing and more opportunities,” said Tomokino. “We don’t have the opportunity to play these days.”
Ramsey Tomokino
But to make progress, they need more days like this.
Samoa wanted a try against England so much. They didn’t get it. But they did get their first World Cup points 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 let’s hope that when they meet, we see some professional players on the Samoan team. And the margin between the teams will be smaller.
That would be legacy and progress.
