World Cup 2021 : Round One (Women's)

The women's side of RL is part of a wider tournament. The first round featured four games and the summary follows.

England 72-4 Brazil. (Pic above)

Brazil was playing just its third international match so little was expected in terms of a win but huge step up and a learning curve. It was 34-0 at the turn around and the second half was a continuatuion of the first. 

Unsurprisingly, England were too good but Brazil managed to score a try, which was nice for them. England will have to be a lot better if they want to win the tournament. They fell into the trap of taking shortcuts rather than doing the basics and building off the back of that. 

PNG 34-12 Canada.

PNG were favoured with experience in the NRLW in Australia. The first 25 minutes were tight but too many fumbles and wayward passes kept the score to zero. Finally, PNG got some field possession and made it count. Then Canada came back and the Ravens lead 6-4. The orchids then got another one to lead 8-6 at the break.

A minute into the second period and PNG was in again. Canada was tiring and PNG's conditioning started to count. Canada battled bravely on defence but the Orchids were slicker out wide and ran away with it at the end. The scoreline didn't reflect the efforts but it did the quality.

Australia 72-0 Cook Is.

The Jillaroos were the favourites here and indeed for the tournament. They soon stamped their authority on proceedings and the Moana were struggling to get hold of the ball and apply any pressure on the opposition. They did manage some time on the Jillaroos line late in the half but it ended up 32-0 to Australia.

The second half started with the Cook Is missing a gilt edged chance to score. Normal transmission then resumed and the Jillaroos ran out comfortable winners. 

New Zealand 46-0 France.

The Kiwi Ferns were hot favourites but were clunky initially and the game was surprisingly even. NZ took the lead after 24 minutes with a try out wide. As the half progressed the Kiwis looked more likely while the few chances France worked hard for didn't threaten much. Half time score was 20-0.The second period was as expected although France toiled and kept the score somewhat respectable.