WHANGAREI, New Zealand — New Zealand and
France warmed up for the women’s
Rugby World Cup with emphatic wins in
Whangarei on Saturday, while Australia and Wales did enough to also reach the
knock-out phase.
اضافة اعلان
Hosts New Zealand unleashed another breathless
display of attacking rugby to overwhelm Scotland 57–0 and ensure they will be
top qualifiers at the end of pool play on Sunday.
France matched that defensive effort, keeping Fiji
scoreless in a classy 44–0 win.
The Fijians joined Scotland as the first of the 12
teams to be eliminated from the tournament.
Earlier, Australia’s tense 13–7 win over Wales
resulted in both teams booking quarter-final berths.
It was a second win for the Wallaroos, leaving them
second behind Pool A winners New Zealand, while Wales’ bonus point means they
are guaranteed to advance as one of the two best third-placed pool finishers.
The makeup of the quarter-finals will be determined
after group play finishes in Auckland on Sunday.
New Zealand fired another warning shot at
pre-tournament favorites England and France, tallying 26 tries through their
three games after notching another nine against the Scots.
Ball-handling and support play was again a feature
for the Black Ferns, who led 45–0 at halftime before losing some momentum after
the interval.
Fullback Renee Holmes opened the scoring and bagged
two tries in a 22-point haul while winger Renee Wick-liffe also crossed for a
brace.
“Our goal was to start the game with a hiss and a
roar, and I think we did that,” fly-half Hazel Tubic said. “The second half, we
probably weren’t as accurate as we’d like to be going into a quarter-final, but
we’ll take the good things out of it.”
Five of France’s seven tries were scored by outside
backs, including a double to center Maelle Filopon as they took the lead in
Pool C.
However, unbeaten England will reclaim top spot if
they beat South Africa on Sunday.
French prop Coco Lindelauf said they had a point to
prove following last week’s 13–7 loss to the English.
“It was very important for us to show what we can
produce. Last week we didn’t have much of the ball,” Lin-delauf said. “Now we
need to work hard again for the quarter-finals.”
Australia and Wales have both reached the knockout
stage for just the second time in nine editions of the global tournament. Both
teams scored one try apiece, but penalties from fullback Lori Cramer at the end
of each half proved decisive.
The Welsh defense was cracked when Australian
halfback Iliseva Batibasaga darted through a gap in the fifth minute. Wales’s
response was a close-range try to No 8 Sioned Harries, the 28th of her Test
career.
Australian captain
Shannon Parry praised her team’s
improvement across the tournament, having arrived in New Zealand on a
seven-game losing streak.
“This group has come a long way since the start of the year,
and I think in those last few minutes everyone really dug in together and I
think that’s a testament to the work we have done,” she said.
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