Quarter final glory for England and a titanic tussle at Elland Road

 Saturday 5th November

After a successful group stage for the men, it was time to head back over the pennines to see them in action against a strong PNG side- who ran Tonga close at the last game I attended. 

It was an early start for us as we also had the added bonus of being able to see the England women's team for the first time as they took on the Canada Ravens in a double header. On a personal note it was exciting that there was a large contingent of Leeds Rhinos players in the team. This included the grand final winning half back partnership of Courtney Winfield-Hill and Georgia Roche. 

We unfortunately missed the start of the game due to delays but we managed to get to our seats just in time to see Hollie Dodd dummy her way through the line to score England’s second try.  The rest of the game followed a similar pattern as England ran out comfortable 54-4 winners over the spirited Canadians. 

After a successful Women’s Super league season it was heartening to see the ground filling up throughout the game to see the women play. Among these was a group of school children who cheered every try like it was the match winner and were rewarded with the women coming over to them after the game to take selfies and sign autographs.

From the group stage of the women’s competition we turned to the first knockout game of the men’s competition. There was an amount of nervousness within the crowd as the team's warmed up. Although England were favourites PNG appeared to be a potential banana skin for a team that were yet to be tested.

Before the game, there were the requisite ceremonies including the rolling out of the red carpet for Kate Middleton who met the players and mascots before taking her seat alongside Jodie Cunningham and Emily Rudge to watch the game. We also had a ‘minute of noise’ for those lost to male mental health issues to mark Movember and emphasise the need to not be silent.

Any nerves about the game were quickly washed away as England blew the PNG team away in a 25 minute spell that saw them score seven tries and put the game to bed. George Williams and Tommy Makinson starred as we ran away with the game. Makinson followed in the footsteps of Tara Stanley as they both completed hat tricks within a half of rugby.

The rest of the game turned into a damp squib as England went away from their game plan and failed to sustain the momentum of the opening stanza. PNG to their credit did improve and even looked the better side as they began to threaten the England line with regularity. They finally got the reward late into the game when Ngutlik crossed for his team's only score.

Like the women, the men took their time to meet the large crowd of children who waited for them dutifully after the game, which will hopefully help to cement the legacy of this tournament and inspire the next generation.

Friday 11th November

We finally had a game on home soil as we made the trip down to Elland Road for the first men’s semi final between Australia and New Zealand. It was set to be a mouth watering contest and there was a certain buzz about the prospect at the pub pre match.

After the short walk down to the stadium we got to our seats just as New Zealand started their haka. It was a spine tingling rendition as in keeping with the rest of the tournament they advanced on the waiting Australians which sent the crowd wild.

The game itself lived up to all expectations. It was played at an intensity that I have never witnessed live in the flesh with both teams line speed and kick chase meaning that it was a real battle for any sort of territory. 

The Kiwis scored first after ten minutes and it was clear who the neutral fans favourites were as it was celebrated by most of the stadium. Much to the chagrin of the crows the Aussies hit back through ‘the fastest man on the planet’ Josh Addo-Carr and Val Holmes. 

Where we were sat in the John Charles stand we had a perfect view of Ronaldo Mulitalo in full flight down the wing before he switched it back inside to Dylan Brown to give New Zealand the lead on the stroke of halftime. 

After such an intense and exciting game it seemed a shame that the game was decided by such a soft try as Cam Murray powered over from a tap restart. I personally though that it was a harsh penalty against New Zealand as Harry Grant was initially told to play on before being tackled through the ruck.

There was some excitement as Peta Hiku looked to have scored for New Zealand but after deliberation by the TMO, which we confusingly couldn’t see in the ground, it was deemed he was out of play before scoring.

As a result of this Australia advanced to the final at Old Trafford. We now know that they will be facing Samoa who beat England in a golden point thriller at the Emirates. Unfortunately for England fans it was a double disappointment as England Women were beaten by New Zealand 20-6 in York on Monday night.

The final games of the tournament will take place on Saturday 19th November in a historic double header at Old Trafford.