WRWC 2025 Semifinals
I’m going to do something a bit different with these. Because of circumstances I couldn’t watch the first semi live, and I ended up watching it in two parts, having slept in between. Then I watched the second semi more normally. But it felt very different. When Canada faced New Zealand it felt like a clash to decide who would get to face England. France had lost three important players to injury or suspension, England have not looked as imperious as perhaps they should, but have still looked good, and they’re welcoming back World Player of the Year from a concussion break. The two matches started, in some ways, quite similarly. The eventual winners scored early. However, for Canada that looked like something that came from work and building pressure, for England it was much more a case of a bit of luck then a magical bit of star play. No complaints about them taking their chances but they didn’t really work to create one. After that, well none of the sides were actually faultless of...