England 31
With thousands of poi in the air and a mass of bodies on the ground, the Black Ferns tonight earned their sixth - and greatest - World Cup title. But only just.
New Zealand somehow survived the deadly English maul to topple a team hailed by coach Wayne Smith as the best of all time, thrilling a record-breaking Eden Park crowd and completing their incredible resurgence.
A year after twice being thumped by England - part of the Red Roses’ 30-match winning run - the Black Ferns made it back to the top of the world with the type of rugby that has become their hallmark.
They were electric in attacking from all parts of the field, taking risks in possession and taking their chances when it mattered.
It was a battle the Red Roses almost won. With the hooter having sounded and camped in the corner looking for their fifth maul try, England couldn’t corral the lineout and the Black Ferns emerged triumphant.
It would have surprised few that the maul played such a significant part in proceedings - it was a well-known weapon for England and became even more influential once they had lost their right wing.
It wasn’t that the favourites were incapable of shifting the ball through hands. They had done so with aplomb earlier in the tournament and opened the scoring tonight in the third minute through a slick exchange of hands that saw Ellie Kildunne cross in the corner.
But once Thompson had seen red, they had little reason to stray from the tactic. Not when the Black Ferns were unable to stop New Zealand-born hooker Amy Cokayne from crossing for a first-half double, and not when Marlie Packer was able to finish off another that rolled all of 20 metres.
One of the rare occasions England did attempt to spread the ball almost led to disaster, with Renee Holmes superbly picking off a loose pass before racing 70m to the line. But that was nullified by referee Hollie Davidson playing a lengthy advantage and, in a major swing, England used the penalty to score their fourth try.
Georgia Ponsonby and Amy Rule were beneficiaries of the former while the latter was clear every time the home side sniffed space.
Woodman had been the first to stretch England before copping a nasty if unintentional shot that ended both her and Thompson’s involvement.
It was a trade England almost would have taken, a reduction in numbers but no more chasing Woodman’s shadow. Except for one factor: Ayesha Leti-I’iga came off the bench and proved equally difficult to contain.
Leti-I’iga scored her side’s second, playing the numbers game against England’s short-handed backline, and she made the midfield bust that led to Rule’s try on the stroke of halftime.
That cut England’s edge to seven and what must have been a straightforward halftime message was put into practice immediately after the break as the Black Ferns found their first lead.
A stunned England could have been forgiven for going back to basics, especially when the Black Ferns kept ingraining and Cokayne soon rumbled across the line to retake the lead.
That two-point advantage must have felt ever narrower given their numbers but England were breathing a little easier when Kennedy Simon, not long after being introduced, was sent to the sin bin for contact with the shoulder.
But the Black Ferns were unbowed and, following an inch-perfect kick from Ruahei Demant, Leti-I’iga collected a popped pass from Fuller to score her second - and World Cup-winning - try.
Black Ferns 34 (Georgia Ponsonby, Ayesha Leti-I’iga 2, Amy Rule, Stacey Fluhler, Krystal Murray tries; Renee Holmes 2 cons)
England 31 (Ellie Kildunne, Amy Cokayne 3, Marlie Packer tries; Emily Scarratt 3 cons)
Halftime: 19-26
