England continue their WXV title defence this Sunday, as they look to build upon their opening round win against the United States. The Red Roses put the Eagles to the sword, as they racked up a considerable 40-point deficit in the 61-21 victory last weekend.
Whilst there was plenty for England fans to celebrate in the impressive win over the USA, the noise levels in the BC Place stadium were below the regular expectations for a Red Roses match. Given the neutral venue of Vancouver, Canada, it has been difficult for England fans to travel out to support their side, with underwhelming audiences witnessed in the first round of the 2024 WXV tournament.
Thanks to their success as the world’s number one ranked women’s side, the Red Roses are no longer used to playing in front of smaller crowds. There was an approximate report of just 4,000 fans in attendance for England’s win against the USA, which dwindles in comparison to the 41,500 strong crowd that packed into Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, and witnessed the win against the Black Ferns just a few weeks prior.
Hooker Amy Cokayne understands that the women’s game is still growing around the globe, and that it takes time for the consistent support to match that achieved in England. Speaking in yesterday’s Red Roses media session from her team’s training base in Vancouver, Cokayne said:
“I think we’ve just got to give the rest of the world a bit of leeway. I remember my first cap, only a few years ago. I played in front of 1,000 people. I think we’ve kind of got these goggles on that everyone should be having 50,000 people at their games.
“People forget that it was only a few years ago that our record in England was only 5,000 people. I think the rest of the world is slightly behind, but I think if we could give them the patience to actually grow.
“We’ve been in Vancouver now and everyone’s been great, and when we have bumped into people, they have been asking us about it. So I think, yes, we would like the good crowds, but I think we can give Canada some time.”
With the reduced numbers in attendance for the WXV matches, spectators watching on from the TV broadcast can hear the individual players sing their own personal renditions of ‘God Save the King’. Cokayne can be easily spotted when the national anthem is played, as the proud Royal Air Force Servicewoman stands to attention away from her teammates, who are bound up in the regular style for a team.
Cokayne explained the reason behind her individuality when the national anthem is sung, and how she started taking the opportunity to stand at attention when there was nobody watching on in the stands, due to the Covid pandemic of 2020.
“When you’re serving military personnel, whenever you hear the national anthem, you are meant to stand to attention, whether you’re in uniform or not. Early on in my career, I didn’t really think about it, and I just stood in the line. But then when Covid happened and we had to all be separated, I was going, ‘oh my gosh, I could stand to attention’.
“So now it’s been a thing that I do, and I really do like it. It kind of gives me that moment of not reflection, per se, but I feel I’m very proud to be in the military and to represent the Air Force. That’s a good way for me to show that. People in the military like to see it as well, so it’s always quite nice.”
Turning her attention from the stands to the pitch, Cokayne reflected on England’s recent win against the United States with both positive and negative aspects. Whilst there is no down playing the level of attacking threat the Red Roses presented in the 12-try thriller, Cokayne was quick to point out where her side could improve, as they get set for a tougher challenge in the form of the New Zealand this Sunday.
“The basics let us down, a lot of handing errors, that was probably the main driving point. Think we’re quite happy with the way we finished the game, obviously putting a few tries on late on. But, it’s a good place for us to start. I think the joy of being a Red Rose is everyone brings their ‘A’ game every time you play them.
“So you’re always going to have a good, strong opposition. So fair play to America. They played really well. Put us under pressure at times. So, fair play to them.”
New Zealand are out to make amends on their opening round in the WXV, as they were stunned by Ireland’s unexpected 29-27 triumph. Add this to their September defeat to England, and a Pacific Nations Four Series loss to Canada back in May, and the Black Ferns have proved their mortality, despite being back-to-back Women’s Rugby World Cup winners.
“Quite a few people watched it in the team room.” Cokayne said. “We didn’t go to the ground to watch it. We had to come back and focus on our recovery a bit. We did watch it, it was on in the team room for people that wanted to.”
“Fair play to Ireland, it’s quite a historic win for them. Quite cool to see them coming from WXV3 to then come into compete at WXV1. I think quite a few people might have written them off.
“So start the tournament with that kind of statement, fair play to them. I think New Zealand are in a similar position to us, everyone brings their ‘A game’ for them. They’re a big game, no one has any reason to not get up for that fixture. So it just shows, if you’re one of two percent off your game, people can take advantage.”
Cokayne is expecting a strong response from the Black Ferns, with the front row enticed with the battle set to commence on Sunday.
“I think no matter what, this week would have been a big week anyway. I don’t think that the Black Ferns needed a loss to get up for it, either. It was always going to be a great fixture.”
“We were actually disappointed that we let them (New Zealand) score (at the Allianz). When we look back the tries they scored, they were quite soft. So hopefully we’re going to fix those areas where they took advantage there. Hopefully put on a good show, and really put our game out that we’re trying to build on the big stage, and it’s against a big team.”
The playing field is level for this match, with the neutral setting of the Langley Events Centre providing the back drop in the second round of 2024 WXV. The Red Roses have proven that the venue does not matter when they face the Black Ferns, as they beat New Zealand upon their own Eden Park soil in the inaugural WXV tournament last October, before following this up with the home win at Twickenham a month ago.
“It’ll be an interesting to watch. Something that I found interesting when I watched the game back from the USA with no crowd, you could really pick up a lot more communication. Off the ref might you could hear a lot more, which I’m really interested to watch back.
“I think crowd was really good. I’m not saying the crowd is bad, but when you’re a player, I don’t think it necessarily affects you massively. It does when you’re down, but not so if you’re focused. I’ve had people come up to me after and say, ‘did you hear me screaming in the crowd?’ Say when I’m going to throw the ball at a line-out, I’m literally zoned in trying to figure out what the lineup ball is going to be. Yeah, it will be a level playing field.”