The Women’s Rugby World Cup came to a conclusion on Saturday, and it couldn’t have ended better. The competition between #1 New Zealand and #2 England was every bit the punching match that you would expect from the two top teams in the world.
The Finals were a great example of how the rest of the tournament went. Amazing plays, amazing performances, great displays of athleticism and skill. It would be difficult to argue that this may have put Women’s rugby into a new level of expectation. If 2016 Olympic rugby was the opener, the 2017 Women’s 6 Nations was the test run, this 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup was the headliner. And the headliner killed it on the main stage.
After watching these matches, we had to put together our Women’s Rugby World Cup All-Tournament team. While not every position was deep, there was a lot of consideration put into each selection. Selections were made based on how many games a player played at the position, and if they started. We took their statistics into consideration, and how they looked off the “eye” test.
This performance definitely increased the conversation for putting more investment into the women’s game. One of the best presentations of rugby.
Women’s Rugby World Cup All-Tournament Team
- Prop – Liz Patu (Australia)
- Hooker – Amy Cokayne (England)
- Prop – Aldora Itunu (New Zealand)
- Lock – Lenaig Corson (France)
- Lock – Alycia Washington (USA)
- Flanker – Sara Parsons (USA)
- Flanker – Romane Meneger (France)
- 8-Man – Safi N’Diaye (France)
- ScrumHalf – Kendra Cocksedge (New Zealand)
- Flyhalf – Katy Mclean (England)
- Wing – Kris Thomas (USA)
- Inside Center – Kelly Brazier (New Zealand)
- Outside Center – Emily Scarrett (England)
- Wing – Portia Woodman (New Zealand)
- Full back – Montserrat Amedee (France)
RESERVES
- Lindsay Peat (Prop) – Ireland
- Gaelle Mignot (Hooker) – France
- Marlie Packer (Flanker) – England
- Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali (Fly half) – New Zealand
- Naya Tapper (Wing) – USA
- Mahalia Murphy (Wing 11) – Australia
- Stacey Waaka (Center) – New Zealand
- Magali Harvey (Wing) – Canada