New Zealand Wins The Womens Rugby World Cup
New Zealand defeated England at Eden Park to become the first host country to win a Women's Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand became the first host country to win a women's rugby world cup, defeating England 34-31 at Eden Park.
England played for 63 minutes in Auckland with 14 players after Lydia Thompson was sent off for a head-on collision with Portia Woodman.
The Red Roses were leading 14-0 at the time and remained ahead until the 72nd minute, when Ayesha Leti-I'iga scored her second try of the game to secure victory.
The victory gave the Black Ferns their sixth Rugby World Cup trophy, making them the fifth team to defeat England in the final.
When Leanne Infante failed a late fitness test because of an ankle and knee problem, England was forced to make a late substitute, with Lucy Packer called in to start at scrum-half.
It appeared to make little difference in the early exchanges, as the Red Roses scored the first try of the game in the third minute, with Ellie Kildunne completing off a team move to score in the right corner.
Renee Holmes blew a penalty attempt to put the hosts on the board, and England quickly extended their lead to two converted tries.
The Red Roses' front pack had to be patient throughout their 13-minute lineout drive, but the Black Ferns could only slow it down rather than halt it, and Amy Cokayne ultimately scored her first try of the final.
England took a 14-0 lead thanks to Emily Scarratt's conversion, but their chances of triumph were dashed a few minutes later when Thompson was issued a red card following a collision that sent Portia Woodman off hurt.
The penalty was despatched to the corner, and the Black Ferns gave England a taste of their own medicine by driving the following lineout over the line, with Georgia Ponsonby coming up with the ball.
Holmes converted, but the Maiakawanakaulani Roos bungled the kickoff into touch, allowing the Red Roses and Marlie Packer to drive over for their third try of the game.
The final had turned into an end-to-end contest, and an Abbie Ward error from the restart handed New Zealand a lineout. Although the hosts' effort was delayed, the ball was transferred to the left flank, where Leti-I'iga scored.
Holmes converted once again to cut the lead to five points, and with fewer than 10 minutes left in the half, the Black Ferns fullback believed she had gone the length of the pitch to score after an interception.
However, referee Hollie Davidson had an advantage, and Cokayne scored her second try of the game from the lineout.
On the stroke of halftime, New Zealand crossed the tryline for the third time, as Amy Rule capitalised on a driving maul to make the score 26-19 at the break.
Stacey Fluhler made a spectacular escape from the restart before swapping passes with Holmes and tapping down as the hosts began the second half as they had closed the first.
Holmes missed the conversion attempt, but the Black Ferns had to wait less than seven minutes for another try, which came from substitute prop Krystal Murray in the left corner.
The conversion was missed once more, and England reclaimed the lead in the 54th minute when Cokayne scored her hat-trick try.
After then, the pace of the game calmed slightly, at least on the scoreboard, until Black Ferns co-captain Kennedy Simon was sent to the sin-bin.
Any thoughts of England winning were put to rest in the 72nd minute, when Leti-I'iga scored after a brilliant offload by Fluhler. The hosts held on to win, rejecting a late Red Roses lineout to retake possession and win a scrum that signalled the end of the game.
New Zealand's sixth Rugby World Cup title in six finals also ended England's remarkable 30-test winning streak, which began with a loss to the Black Ferns in July 2019.