For the past five years, Abbie Ward has carried a polaroid photo in her purse. It is a print of her white jersey, worn and hung up in the changing room, which she instinctively snapped after England fell short against New Zealand in the 2017 World Cup final.
The RedRoses had been 40 minutes away from retaining their title, leading 17-10 at the break, before being outgunned by a dominant Black Ferns outfit in a breathless second half.
The Bristol Bears lock counts it among the worst experiences of her career, but was determined to immortalise the sadness that consumed her.
”I never want to feel like I did in that moment again,” says Ward.
“I knew that if I worked hard, there might be another opportunity to be in a similar position. For me, it’s a reminder to work hard and not take anything for granted.”
Ward does not like to look at the photo too often. She simply knows it is there - a constant reminder of the collective pain that has hung over her England team ever since. She has another polaroid photo in her purse which rekindles happier memories - one celebrating with her husband, Dave, after winning the Premier 15s with her former club Harlequins, in 2021.
”It’s about having those moments where you don’t quite get the outcome you want and learning from them, but also those moments where you do have success and all the learning experiences that come from it,” says Ward.
”Rugby is full of highs and lows. There’s so many ebbs and flows within a game itself and different moments of momentum and change. That’s this whole experience of a World Cup cycle of any player, and through the World Cup itself.”
Black Ferns players celebrate a try in the 2017 World Cup final. Photosport
Ward will have a shot at redemption on Saturday, when the Red Roses face the Black Ferns in a historic World Cup final in circumstances which could not be better scripted. Having won a world-record 30 Tests on the bounce, England are the heavy favourites - but have never beaten the Black Ferns in a World Cup final.
New Zealand, the five-time world champions and most successful nation in women’s Test rugby, are on this occasion more than happy to embrace their underdog tag. The pressure gauge is cranking up, but you wouldn’t know it in the Red Roses camp.
”It’s business as usual to a degree,” says Ward. “We’re in our same routine, training hard. Next week once it’s over it will be surreal. You would think it’s really hard to keep it the same because it’s a World Cup final week, but I don’t think it will really dawn on us until afterwards.
”At the minute, we’re still in our same routine, in our bubble, at the hotel, doing what we normally do, nothing’s changed. We do some analysis, we box off the last game and we look forward to the next game.”
A clash of styles awaits.
The hosts’ main challenge will be to disrupt England’s dominant line-out maul, which has been the bread and butter of their tournament.
”We’re used to playing away in front of a packed-out crowd, noisy French crowds, but also it’s usually 99 per cent of people there rooting for France,” says Ward. “It will be a similar situation on the weekend. We’re used to playing in those situations.”
The hosts have peaked at the perfect time seven months after All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith was brought in to turn around the team’s fortunes following a difficult 2021.
“The way that we’ve come together and brought New Zealand together, I think we’ve already won, really,” said Black Ferns flanker Sarah Hirini. “We just get to enjoy the week.”
