Women's Rugby World Cup Final Round-up

• The battle to avoid last place at the tournament saw Samoa face Kazakhstan, both teams looking to record their first win of the tournament. Samoa's first try came from crisp and simple execution, good passing saw the backline break through the defence, before executing the perfect two-on-one to send winger Mefi scampering underneath the posts. Their second showed skill and power that the men's team is infamous for, inside centre Collins hitting hard before offloading to her support, before the same act was achieved by replacement Robertson on the touchline, to send Mefi in for her second try of the match, half time 14-0. The second half was much of the same, Samoa just proving too strong for Kazakhstan, eventually fly-half Milo scoring the fifth and final try after breaking through around the fringe of the ruck.

Final Score: Samoa 31 - Kazakhstan 0

• The second game of the day pitched South Africa against Spain. It took a short while for the game to get going, Spain not opening the scoreboard with a penalty until 16 minutes in. The twentieth minute brought the opening try of the game, some good passing work, spread the ball out wide, but some good last ditch defence brought the Spanish attack to a halt. But fullback Cabane, burst through the edge of the ruck and powered here way, fending off numerous tacklers to dive over the line. Shortly before the break, a looped pass put centre, Pla, in some space and an impressive burst of speed saw her outpace the cover defence to finish the try, 0-17. Spain kept up the pressure in the second half, a penalty try saw them extend their lead. The final try came from another burst of speed, this time from winger Martinez who showed calm finishing ability to complete a rout.

Final Score: South Africa 0 - Spain 36

[11th and 9th Play-off Highlights]

• The 7th place play-off saw Australia and Wales face off, Australia certainly looking the stronger of the two teams. The first half was relatively tight, but two tries for Australia scored by their forwards saw them build a solid lead, 10-3 at the break. The second half however was all Australia, a good miss pass and an excellent diving finish saw winger Brown score. Good passing and an eye for a half-gap saw Sharni Williams score yet another try from out-side centre. Her centre partner Morgan, executed an audaciously large dummy-switch, before arcing around the drifting defence to finish off the scoring for Australia.

Final Score: Australia 30 - Wales 3

• USA and New Zealand combined have a total of five world cup championship wins, but for the first time they'd meet each other in the 5th place play-off. It didn't take long for the Black Ferns to get into the swing of things, a powerful charging run by inside centre Rule cracked open the American defence, before pulling off a neat offload to Savage for the opening try. Everitt scored the second, after another miss pass sent the New Zealanders sweeping through the defence, and another offload rounded off the score. Two miss passes, one executed by a forward (showing the handling ability across the New Zealand team), gave winger Baker an easy run in for try number three. The fourth started team inside their own half, fly-half Subritzky-Nafatali evading the attentions of the tacklers before full-back Winiata motored up the pitch, showcasing her insane sprint speed for a 50m run to the line. The Black Ferns didn't stop at four, scoring another try in the first half, a poorly executed blitz defence by the USA team, allowed an easy try for winger Hireme. Half time 0-31. New Zealand started the second half where they left off, scoring yet another try in no time. America struck a blow shortly after, the normally peerless Winiata throwing a loose pass which American fly-half Rozier stolen out of mid-air to rush in for the try. New Zealand were having none of it though, Hireme executing some excellent footwork to cancel out America's try. Hireme scored her fourth try of the game on the verge of full-time, cutting through the defensive line, and pulling off a wicked side-step past the fullback to carry her on her way to the line.

Final Score: USA 5 - New Zealand 55

• In the 3rd place play-off, Ireland played the hosts, both teams having had strong campaigns but stumbled at the last hurdle. Ireland opened the scoring, after superb work by the forwards at scrum time, saw them build the phases until it was shovelled out to full-back Briggs who dotted the ball over the line despite the attentions of a couple of tacklers. It didn't take too long for France to give the packed stadium something to cheer for, showing their forward power as they have all tournament, using the driving maul to great effect to score the try. Next it was France's turn to take the lead, some slick passing eventually getting the ball outside the Irish defence for fullback Tremouliere to slide over. It wasn't to last either, on the stroke of half time Irish centre Davitt chipped the French defence, and a wicked bounce saw it return straight into her open arms allowing her to run in and take the lead back for Ireland, 15-12. The tit-for-tat game continued, as France retook the lead after the break, winger Guiglion scoring with plenty of room in the corner. A bit of penalty kicking kept the scoreboard ticking over, until the final hooter. Despite leading as the 80th minute passed, France refused to just end the game, instead giving the crowd something more to cheer for, Guiglion finished it off stepping inside two covering tacklers to end the game.

Final Score: Ireland 18 - France 25
[Ireland v France Highlights]

• Then it was time for the final. A rematch of the tightest pool game, as England faced Canada. A couple of penalties by England kicker Scarrat built a lead up, before some excellent play by the England backs, saw them make a lot of ground in a short space of time. The recovering Canada defence could do very little in the end as both England forward and backs spotted space, and executed passing to send fullback Waterman in for the opening try. A Harvey penalty closed the gap a little at the break but England were still in control, 11-3. Another two penalties by Harvey closed the gap to two points at the beginning of the second half, but Scarrat was not to be outdone, grabbing herself another three points. The moment of the second half came from Scarrat again, an arrow straight ball, allowed her to hit the gainline full on and bust through the first tackle. She then found the angle to cut back against the desperate cover defence to cross the line and give the game and the World Cup to England.

Final Score: England 21 - Canada 9