England Women are Europe's champs
Sun, 25 May 2008 20:18
England beat Wales 12-6 to win the final of the European Championships.
France, the reigning champions ended fourth after drawing with the much-improved Irish side who were awarded third place for scoring four tries to three.
At the other end of Group A the Netherlands beat Sweden by a single point, which means that Sweden came last.
Russia won Group B.
Final Day Results
Group A
7th/8th: Netherlands vs Sweden, 7-6
5th/6th: Scotland vs Spain, 27-25
3rd/4th: Ireland vs France, 22-22
1st/2nd: England vs Wales
Group B
5th/6th: Romania vs Finland, 12-5
3rd/4th: Germany vs Belgium, 19-15
1st/2nd: Russia vs French Army, 31-14
Final Standings:
Group A
1. England
2. Wales
3. Ireland
4. France
5. Scotland
6. Spain
7. Netherlands
8.
Sweden
Group B
1. Russia
2. French Army
3. Germany
4. Belgium
5. Romania
6. Finland
There were no tries in the Final. Wales played with the strong wind in the first half and led 6-0 at half-time after penalties by Non Evans
England coach Gary Street said: “We are delighted with this victory. We have not won the elite European Championships since 1997. A lot of very good English sides have failed in this tournament but finally we have won it. It’s also great to be crowned Six Nations and European Champions in the same season. Not many sides can say they have done that.
“This was a tough game, but in the end we dominated the second-half and were in control. Wales gave us a very good test though, our first real test since the Rugby World Cup Final in 2006. You need tight games like this though and we proved today that we can come from behind and win.”
Scorers:
For England:
Pens: Katy McLean 4
For Wales:
Pens: Non Evans 2
England: 15 Charlotte Barra, 14 Katherine Merchant, 13 Michaela Staniford, 12 Rachael Burford, 11 Fiona Pocock, 10 Katy McLean, 9 Amy Turner, 8 Catherine Spencer (captain), 7 Margaret Alphonsi, 6 Sarah Hunter, 5 Joanna McGilchrist, 4 Tamara Taylor, 3 Sophie Hemming, 2 Amy Garnett, 1 Rochelle Clark
Replacements: 16 Samantha Dale, 17 Rosemarie Crowley, 18 Sarah Beale, 19 Karen Jone, 20 Georgina Rozario , 21 Kimberley Oliver, 22 Vicky Massarella
Referee: Aoife MacCarthy (Ireland)
