Women’s Rugby World Cup: Wales captain backs Black Ferns to win title against England

Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap. Photo / Photosport

Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap has backed the Black Ferns to beat England if the two sides meet in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final.

Writing in a column for the BBC, Lillicrap paid tribute to the Ferns’ formidable attacking skills after losing to the hosts 55-3 in the quarter-final. “They are deadly when they have got the ball.”

She predicted the hosts would get through their semifinal on Saturday. “I think the Black Ferns will beat France, England will beat Canada [in the other semifinal] — and that will be one tasty final.

“But I think the Black Ferns are going to win it.”

The loose forward said the Wayne Smith-coached hosts’ constant improvement and unpredictable play gave them an edge. “For me they have got better and better each week, they’ve got strength in depth, they’ve changed their team pretty much every game and they can create something from nothing.

“I don’t think England will have faced anything that unstructured for a while. They are also used to being ahead, so they may get flustered and frustrated.

“It’s going to be an incredible finale.”

Wales also lost against the Black Ferns in pool play, going down 56-12 in a 10-try Black Ferns blast. In both defeats, the Wales pack provided a stern challenge for the Black Ferns in the lineout, scrum and maul.

“Our set piece took a huge step forward in this campaign,” Lillicrap said. “Our lineout and our scrum were a deadly force and it made teams look at themselves and come up with ways to combat it.

“We are obviously disappointed to be knocked out of the Rugby World Cup, but we leave New Zealand with no regrets and our heads held high.”

Lillicrap said the tournament — in which the powerhouses of England and France have shown the benefit of their well-supported programmes — had shown how important it is for national bodies to invest in women’s rugby. “Everyone is going to have to step up their game or they will be left behind.”

She said New Zealand was “a pretty cool country, it’s like Wales but on a larger scale”.

“It’s got lovely beaches, lots of mountains, the weather is similar, sunshine one day and pouring down the next.

“They are a nation that truly lives and breathes rugby.

“Everyone wants to talk to you when you’re out and about, they want to know which nation you’re from and they want to wish you well.”

Lillicrap noted how difficult it had been for her after her grandfather died at the start of the tournament. “This is sport and sometimes you have to put things into perspective. It was my grandfather’s funeral last week and I’m itching to see my grandmother and my family and give them all a big hug.”