The Rugby Football Union (RFU) have stood by their decision to fly England’s team to New Zealand for the Women’s World Cup in economy class. This is in contrast to the men’s team who travelled to Australia this summer in business class.
Simon Middleton’s side are ranked world No1, have not lost since 2019 and take a 25-match winning streak into the tournament. The RFU told the BBC that because the women's side is loss making, "we have to make challenging decisions around what we can invest in”.
The decision sparked a backlash on social media with one fan raging: “There no excuses at all. @rfu shame on you. They are most successful women rugby team and yet you can't be equal? Have @rfu men won 25 matches in a row? No. England women rugby? Yes. Embarrassment.”
BBC reported players have been asked not to post about their flight on social media, with the reason given that the chosen airline is not an official partner of England Rugby. It is understood that four years ago, airline British Airways announced it would fly the England men's and women's teams to their respective World Cups as part of its partnership with the RFU.
However, that was before New Zealand were named as the host of the women's tournament and the RFU said it had chosen to use "an alternative carrier" because British Airways "does not currently fly directly" to the country.
As the event draws closer, Middleton claimed his side would feel as though they’ve massively underachieved if they are unable to win their third world championship. “We’ve got to win it,” said Middleton. "This is the best prepared squad with the best strength in depth we’ve ever had. We are as ready to go as we could be. That doesn’t mean we will win it. The one thing you can’t guarantee is that you’ll win it because it doesn’t work like that.”
Given their exceptional record, and the Black ferns’ new head coach Wayne Smith more than happy to give them the favourites tag, coach Middleton both understands and embraces the pressure his team are under heading into the tournament. “We might be three years ahead of some of the players he’s brought in, but certainly not most of the squad,” he said.
“They’ve got more World Cup winners than we have, so I’m not having that. We’ve got a lot of young kids in this group. Point that out to Wayne Smith.” Middleton also remains keenly aware that sport is never entirely predictable.
“Look at Argentina’s men beating New Zealand in New Zealand for the first time or Andy Ruiz knocking out Anthony Joshua when he ain’t got a chance. Or, going back to when I was playing, Wimbledon beating Liverpool [in the 1988 FA Cup final].
“Everyone’s got a chance in sport, that’s the beauty of it. What you’ve got to do is prepare your very best and try to deliver your best performance when it matters. You’re never going to get a 100% performance, but if we can get as many people playing as close to their best when it matters we’ll be in a good spot.” England will play their opening World Cup match against Fiji on October 8.
