Rugby: England captain Marlie Packer voices disappointment at lack of crowds for inaugural WXV 1 tournament

English rugby captain Marlie Packer has voiced her disappointment at the crowd sizes in New Zealand for the WXV 1 tournament after leading her side to the inaugural title.

The tournament stretched over three weeks, with three tests played across two days in each. Over the first two weeks, played in Wellington and Dunedin, about 10,000 attended games across the two days with the most sizeable crowds at Black Ferns tests.

The crowd was noticeably larger in Auckland on Saturday for the final day of matches, which included a World Cup final rematch between the Black Ferns and England. However, that number still paled in comparison to some of the crowd sizes that were attracted during last year’s World Cup.

“I thought the tournament in itself was a really successful tournament. We want to be playing the best teams in the world and there’s no better place to do it; being in New Zealand, off the back of the World Cup and to carry on that legacy of the World Cup and that buzz around it,” Packer said.

“As a player, it was disappointing with the fans. I’m not going to lie to you, the stadiums were empty, weren’t as much as we were expecting, but that doesn’t take away anything from the game. We’re putting performances in and we’re loving what we’re doing. To play the top teams in the world, I know the squad will travel anywhere to do that because we want to be playing in the biggest games there is.”

Packer, who was named World Rugby Player of the Year for 2023 at the conclusion of the tournament, held the trophy aloft in Auckland on Saturday night following a 33-12 win over the Black Ferns.

England led the way from the outset, running out to a 19-0 lead inside 25 minutes. The Black Ferns fought their way back through the middle stages of the game, but England were able to run away with the game in the end.

Packer was a force in the win, and often drew the ire of the crowd when she was shown on the big screen.

“Full credit to them that they were full out in force, but it was nothing like a year ago in a World Cup final, but then also, it was not a World Cup final,” Packer said.

“We’re playing for the WXV; a whole new competition. Full credit to the people that did come out and watch and made it such a good atmosphere. Hopefully, they enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed playing in front of them and interacting with them after the game on the pitch, because it’s about that for us.

“We want to inspire future generations to pick up the ball, whether it’s a boy or girl or even an older adult to go down to their local club and play like that. That’s what we want to do as Red Roses, and I know New Zealand rugby also want to do the same, so hopefully we’ve done that tonight.”

Earlier in the week, World Rugby director of women’s rugby Sally Horrox told the Herald that the tournament was very much in a building phase, but the organisation had been pleased with the level of interest in the new format across in-stadia attendance and the global reach of their game streams.

As far as the competitive element of the tournament went, World Rugby couldn’t have hoped for much more for the final round as several teams still had a mathematical chance of lifting the trophy. England always looked like the top side, though, and proved as much against the Black Ferns to take out the title, however Canada and Australia – who were both well beaten by the Black Ferns this year – finished second and third respectively as they won two of their three tests.

The Black Ferns finished the tournament in fourth after failing to score a bonus point in their loss to England, losing two of their three tests.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.