No noise. No nonsense. Just England.
Hosted by Spain
England: Runners-up
How England performed
The Red Roses reached the final of the 2002 Women's Rugby World Cup in Spain, with Geoff Richards as head coach, and finished with three wins and one defeat from four matches. England opened on 13 May with a 63–9 win over Italy at Cornellà de Llobregat in Barcelona.
In the semi-final at Gorina, also in Barcelona, England beat Canada 53–10 on 21 May to set up a final against New Zealand. The wins over Italy and Canada were both by wide margins, with England scoring 116 points and conceding 19 across the two matches. The final, played at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on 25 May, was won 19–9 by New Zealand, and England finished as runners-up. It was a step forward from 1998, when the Red Roses had finished third.
England fixtures
Italy
9–63
England
England won
England tries: Sue Day 2', Nicky Crawford 7', Assunta De Biase 9', Sue Day 15', Assunta De Biase 18', Emma Mitchell 26', Emily Cooke 33', Sue Day 38', Sue Day 47', Nicky Crawford 61', Sue Day 70'
Italy tries: None
Spain
5–13
England
England won
England tries: Nicola Jupp 46', Nicky Crawford 51'
Spain tries: Maria Isabel Perez Garrido 26'
Canada
10–53
England
England won
England tries: Emily Cooke 8', Sue Day 15', Nicky Crawford 23', Sue Day 28', Emily Cooke 42', Nicky Crawford 51', Sue Day 54', Sue Day 76'
Canada tries: Colette McAuley 37', Sherri Sparling 62'
New Zealand
19–9
England
England lost
England tries: None
New Zealand tries: Monique Hirovanaa 33', Cheryl Waaka 47'
England statistics
Full England squad
| Player | Pos | Club | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heather Baillie | ?? | – | |
| Teresa Andrews | Second row | Richmond | – |
| Susie Appleby | Scrum-half | Clifton | – |
| Gillian Ann Burns | Number 8 | Waterloo | – |
| Helen Clayton | Flanker | Saracens | – |
| Nicola Coffin | Flanker | – | |
| Nicola Crawford | Wing | Worcester | 5 |
| Susan Margaret Day | Centre | Wasps | 9 |
| Assunta de Biase | Centre | Saracens | 2 |
| Christine Diver | Wing | Richmond | – |
| Maxine Patricia Edwards | Prop | Richmond | – |
| Emily Feltham | Wing | Richmond | – |
| Claire Joanne Frost | Number 8 | Saracens | – |
| Amy Garnett | Hooker | Saracens | – |
| Paula George | Fullback | Wasps | – |
| Karen Henderson | Second row | Clifton | – |
| Vanessa Huxford | Prop | Wasps | – |
| Nicola_Jupp | Centre | Richmond | – |
| Louise Latter | Prop | – | |
| Emma Mitchell | Scrum-half | 1 | |
| Ann O'Flynn | Hooker | Waterloo | – |
| Teresa Jane O'Reilly | Prop | Saracens | – |
| Jennifer Phillips | Flanker | Saracens | – |
| Shelley Rae | Fly-half | Wasps | – |
| Selena Rudge | Centre | Clifton | – |
| Georgia Ruth Stevens | Flanker | Clifton | – |
| Jenny Sutton | Second row | Richmond | – |
| Joanne Yapp | Scrum-half | Worcester | – |
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