Rugby is a form of football (not soccer) most popularly played in countries throughout the British Commonwealth. First developed at the Rugby School in Warwickshire in the 1830s, it became widespread and popular in the mid-19th century. Today there are two main types of Rugby played; rugby league and rugby union. These two forms of the game are quite similar, but they diverge with different sets of rules.
Geoff Richards is a former rugby union player and also served as a coach. In 2006 Geoff Richards was England Women’s Rugby coach when he challenged New Zealand in the last game of the IRB Rugby World Cup. The match took place at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada.
This match was incredibly a deja vu of a game that took place four years earlier, in 2002. That tournament finale ended with a score of 19-9, the Black Ferns taking the championship. Sadly, the Red Roses of England did not have even one victory over their arch rivals from New Zealand since their win in 2001 at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium.
Geoff Richards said this about the upcoming game:
“This is our best and strongest squad and certainly a very exciting team. We are solid up-front and we have a lot of pace in the backs.
“There’s a very positive mood in the camp, from the players all the way through to the management team, but this is going to be our toughest challenge yet.
“To beat the Black Ferns, primary source of possession is crucial and also how we defend. The battle up-front is where most games are won and lost so if we can really put pressure on them and get into their faces then let’s see how they handle things under pressure.”