Two tough, contrasting days into the World Cup and certainly learning a lot!
Day 1 was pretty dull, wet and overcast. In the first match we never recovered from a poor slow start as slippery balls and opening day nerves got the better of us, going down 7-3 in the end. Emer, Anthea (although it’s been credited to Dawn!) and Michelle got the scores – a nice way for Emer to mark her 50th cap 🙂
Next up was england and going down 11-1 is probably in line with our expectations. Again the wet conditions didn’t help the completion rate, but we would have liked to have had more than Maria’s try to show for our efforts.
Day 2 saw an improvement in the weather and the sun even came out to add some colour to my pasty self! First up was a tough match against South Africa. Again too many self-inflicted errors cost us dear, eventually going down 6-3. Both teams struggled for consistency and we showed good dog in defence, but were out-paced by their speedsters a few too many times. Emer and Dawn both got on the scoresheet again, this time joined by captain Claire.
The final game of day 2 was what the World Cup is all about and a chance to go up against the all conquering Aussies. It’s great to watch the class of players that have been brought up on the oval ball and have the experience and resources far beyond anyone else, and even better to experience it first hand. Their pace, power and technical skills show what we need to aspire to, but the courage we showed was awesome. It might sound strange applauding a 13-0 defeat, but if it does then you simply don’t understand the context. It was a shame to not cross their line and convert at least one of the half chances we created, but we were very close at times. The girls were, quite rightly, proud of their efforts and can look forward to more days like this in the future.
Day 3 is fast approaching and will bring some more exciting challenges with a must win game against Fiji and a tough match against out familiar Welsh foes – bring it on!