BELFAST, United Kingdom (AFP) — England captain Sarah Hunter has warned her team that New Zealand are capable of shattering the holders’ dreams in the women’s Rugby World Cup final on Saturday.
The title match at Belfast’s Kingspan Stadium will see the competition’s two best sides go head-to-head, with England looking to repeat their 2014 triumph.
But Hunter, who is preparing for her third consecutive World Cup final, says England can’t afford to start dreaming of lifting the trophy because the dangerous Black Ferns pose a major threat.
“It would be pretty indescribable to win it again, but it’s the kind of thing you only dream about,” Hunter said.
“We don’t want to get to the point where we start thinking about it yet because once you start thinking about what might happen, what winning will feel like, you forget the most important thing.
“Right now that’s getting the right preparation and getting ourselves mentally in the right place for a game that will be one hell of a test.
“If we do that then we’ll get the right result, but if we start thinking about lifting trophies or thinking about being double world champions, then we’ll lose what’s important between now and then.”
England head coach Simon Middleton is set to make one change for the final with full-back Danielle Waterman ruled out with concussion picked up in the semi-final win over France.
Megan Jones is set to step in, while New Zealand will be unchanged from their dominant semi-final win over the USA on Tuesday.
Hunter says England, who beat New Zealand on home soil earlier this year, will focus on stopping the opposition’s dangerous back three.
The Black Ferns boast Portia Woodman and Renee Wickliffe behind the scrum, two players who have starred in the competition to date.
Woodman scored eight tries as New Zealand routed Hong Kong 121-0 to put down a marker to their rivals.
“They have a strong pack that will give their backs front foot ball to play with, and that’s key,” Hunter said.
“We’ve seen their backs and how they’ve played in the tournament. Their half backs are very smart and make good decisions and if you give their back three time and space, they’ll exploit it.
“We know we’ll have to be spot on with everything we do to not give them ball to play with.”
New Zealand captain Fiao’o Fa’amausili admits her team won’t need too much motivation in their bid for what would be a fifth World Cup title.
“It’s definitely going to be a tough challenge – it’s finals rugby. You have the top two teams from the pools battling it out,” she said.
“To play any team in a World Cup final you’re going to be motivated because you want your team to come out on top, not just for yourself, but for everyone back home and for all the new players who haven’t experienced a final before.”
© Agence France-Presse