Occasions to savour for women's top teams
By Meghan Mutrie
From Paris
Hot on the heels of last month's announcement of Rugby Seven's inclusion in the Olympic Games, another landmark will be witnessed in 2009 as the game continues its modern evolution.
Not wanting to be left behind, the 15-a-side game is making a progressive and inclusive statement with double headers of men's and women's international test matches taking place for the first time among the leading nations.
On either side of the English Channel, packaged on the same bill as the men's matches, the top four women's teams in the world will come face to face as they build towards Women's Rugby World Cup 2010 in England.
England's women will host the New Zealand Black Ferns, the side that has beaten them in the last two Women's Rugby World Cup finals, at Twickenham after the All Blacks try to remain undefeated on their end of year tour at the expense of the England men.
The world's top two nations in Women's Rugby came face to face for the first time since the last WRWC in 2006 with the Black Ferns running out 16-3 winners last Saturday. The world champions then dispatched England A with relative ease 48-6 on Tuesday with their hosts yet to breach their try-line in both encounters at Esher.
Massive opportunity
The significance of the occasion and playing on the same pitch on the same day as the England men was not lost on women's coach Gary Street as his side seek a first win over the Black Ferns since 2001.
"Playing at Twickenham stadium is a massive opportunity for us to show how good this side is, and how skilful Women's Rugby is. Certainly being at home for this crucial match is going to give us that extra five percent on the pitch. We are relishing this opportunity," he said.
By the time these old rivals kick off at Twickenham, on the other side of the Channel the third and fourth ranked sides in the Women's Game - France and Canada - will have met at the Stade de France in the curtain raiser to the French men's test with Samoa.
On Wednesday night, the same day the two rivals were named in the same pool for Women's Rugby World Cup 2010, Canada ended their decade long search for victory over France with a 14-5 win in Dijon.
The victory was only the second time in history that Canada has recorded a win over France; the first came at the 1998 World Cup when hooker Moira Shiels slotted a 50-metre penalty to secure a 9-6 triumph.
An unrealistic dream
The city of Dijon hosted both teams at a reception on Thursday before they travelled to Paris for the historic match. Bonin Maylis, one of France's assistant coaches, said the magnitude of this opportunity is not lost on her squad.
"This is the first time the women's French national team will play a game in Stade de France," she explained. "It is the most beautiful stadium in France.
"This event will show that Women's Rugby is recognised by the FFR. It is exceptional that the men and women will share the same pitch, the same stadium and the same reception.
"When the girls on our team were younger, they would not even have known they were allowed to dream of one day playing at Stade de France as a female."
When asked if Wednesday's loss to Canada, coupled with the weight of playing at the stadium in front of a very patriotic crowd, would be added pressure, Maylis smiled and added: "For France it is not pressure, it is strength and motivation."
Canada can expect their hosts to throw everything they have at them Saturday's match, as playing at the Stade de France for a French rugby player is just as important, if not more, than winning the World Cup.
An extra dimension
Captain Leslie Cripps, along with a few of Canada's regular starting XV, were rested on Wednesday in anticipation of a French firestorm.
"The French always play with passion and being the first women's game ever in the Stade de France will just add another dimension to their pride. We have to be ready for that," said Cripps.
Three of the top four women's teams are all ranked within four places of the positions their male counterparts currently occupy in the IRB World Rankings. The Canadian women are the exception as they are ranked fourth in comparison to the men's team having slipped to 14th after a heavy loss in Japan last weekend.
Canada does not have a professional rugby league or national rugby stadium, so the women's team are very appreciative but realistic about why the French chose them as an opponent for this historic match.
"There is no equivalent in Canadian rugby to playing at Stade de France or for us to strive for, so we can only imagine how great it will be for the French women to take the field on Saturday.
"We know how much a win would mean in that stadium, so at the same time as the invite being an honour, we also know they picked us as an opponent very intentionally because they think we're beatable."
A belief Canada's women will be looking to dispel by recording back to back victories over the side who have beaten them to the bronze medal in the last two Women's Rugby World Cups and who they will face again in nine months time.