Our summer in France was, as always, a delight. For months there was the pleasure of being with our French friends, of living French (Breton) culture, of buying and eating produce where the choice, quality and the taste was unbeatable, and (for me) the ultimate pleasure of simply speaking French. Add to these were the pleasures of living and lazing in our cottage, of tending the garden, of picking the fruit in the orchard – this year’s crops were the best ever – and then preserving the harvested products for the year to come.

And while all these French ‘domestic’ delights filled much of our days, this year there was an wonderful additional pleasure – for a month I was able to watch live on screen (television or iPad) match after match of the Women’s Rugby World Championship. The championship takes place every four years, and this year the event’s host was England. The games started on 22 August and culminated in the final on 27 September.

Before continuing, I need to make a declaration of interest and one which many readers might find surprising and probably won’t understand – some might even prefer to stop reading now! I get enormous pleasure from watching rugby on television with all its close-ups and reviews, indeed, I would describe myself as a committed armchair rugby enthusiast. But there is more – in my viewing I am selective. I concentrate mostly on watching internationals and as a spectator I am unashamedly partisan. Moreover, I mainly limit myself to matches played by England. Occasionally I watch other countries and then my preference, now long-established, has Scotland topping the list of favourites followed by France and then New Zealand.

The games I choose to watch have changed over the years. Originally, viewing was limited to games involving men, as these were the only ones broadcast on TV. More recently the women’s game has developed greatly and it is their games that I now much prefer. The way men now play has become increasingly physical and aggressive, more akin to a brawl played in a ‘macho’ culture. 

These days, when women play, the skill level of those in the best teams is on a par with their male counterparts; but the way women play is much more precise and clever, with athleticism, tactics and speed-of-thought the dominant factors. For women, predictably, the ‘macho’ element is minimal. It is odd to see how their game is like the male game of forty years ago! Accordingly, watching this years Women’s World Cup was both a must and a delight.

Teams from sixteen countries competed and after twelve games in four ‘pools’ (mini-leagues) there followed the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and then a momentous final at Twickenham seen in the stadium by a record of nearly 82,000 spectators and on TV by nearly six million. In that final England’s ‘Red Roses’ met Canada’s ‘Maple Leaves’ and after a gripping tussle we, that is to say ‘England’, won. 

Over the month, making observations on the Red Roses and their various opponents was inevitable. It was clear that, from the start, the English team were living up to their billing as favourites. They won all their games with ease and amongst their players was one who everyone – including all my rugby-watching friends – saw as outstanding and who they adopted as a hero. I refer to England’s fullback Ellie Kildunne (see illustration). She was fast, quick-thinking and agile, with nimble footwork and long legs that allowed her to break tackles and run past the most determined of defenders. Watching her run her opponents ragged certainly gave me, as well as all those to whom I have spoken, enormous pleasure. 

But having one outstanding player would never be enough to win the final; the rival team Canada, had shown great cunning and alacrity during the month-long preliminary rounds – such that many backed them to beat England in the final. Analysis of how England played showed how the Red Roses had modified their game to neutralise Canada’s approach. With that in mind, watching the Red Roses win was especially exciting. 

The Women’s Rugby World Cup has made this year’s summer a particular delight, and it is still not over! I have yet to tire of watching replays of key moments of the tournament, of which the best is Ellie Kildunne’s try in the final.

The illustration shows a photo of Ellie Kildunne, England’s fullback, scoring the wonderful try against Canada in the final on Saturday September 27 2025.

For helping me write this blog, I would like to thank Patrick, Peter, Ralph, Kerry, Mark, Caroline, Rohan and Vivien.