Women’s Rugby World Cup: Ireland Ready to Face Six-Time Champions New Zealand in Pool C Showdown
Ireland’s scrum-half Emily Lane has declared that her team is “raring to go” ahead of their Pool C clash against defending champions New Zealand in the Women’s Rugby World Cup, set for Sunday at Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 14:45 BST, with live coverage on My Newspaper Two, My Newspaper iPlayer, and My Newspaper Radio 5 Sports Extra, along with live text updates on the My Newspaper Sport website.
Both Ireland and New Zealand have already secured quarter-final berths after winning their opening two matches with bonus points. However, the winner of Sunday’s encounter will claim top spot in the group, adding extra intensity to the match.
“It’s great that we’ve qualified, but we all want to go out this weekend and perform, put our hand up and try to top the pool,” Lane told My Newspaper Sport. “We want to show the world that we’re capable of competing with top-class teams like New Zealand, who have won the World Cup six times. They are a world-class team, and we respect that, so we want to bring our best foot forward.”
Ireland began the tournament strongly, defeating Japan 42-14 in their opener and following that up with a 43-27 win over Spain. Despite these victories, Lane stresses that there are still areas for improvement. “We want to minimise penalties, be more physical, and stop those tries,” she said. “As backs, we’ve been working on executing in the green zone, scoring tries, and I think we’ve been doing that. Hopefully, we can put into practice what we’ve been working on.”
The Black Ferns will be tough opponents, but Ireland comes into Sunday’s game with confidence from a recent narrow victory over New Zealand. Last September, the Irish side secured a thrilling 29-27 win in a WXV1 clash in Vancouver. Lane, who was a newcomer to the squad at that time, says she now feels fully integrated into the team. “Back then, I was still finding my feet, watching others take the lead. Now I feel more embedded within the team and ready to contribute fully,” she explained.
For this match, Ireland has moved from Northampton to Brighton, where a near-capacity crowd of 30,000 is expected. The majority of fans will be cheering for Scott Bemand’s side, giving the team a huge boost. “The most exciting thing about this World Cup is the support. Being so close to home, it nearly feels like a home World Cup. The crowd in Northampton was unbelievable, and there will be three times that amount this weekend. It’s such a privilege to have that support,” Lane said.
With top honours in Pool C on the line, Ireland will be aiming to build on their impressive performances so far and show the world that they can compete with the best in women’s rugby.
