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Meg Jones has a number of super strengths in this England team. She is the energy-giver, she provides massive momentum by producing big moments and she knits things together on and off the pitch. Perhaps her biggest in the World Cup final against Canada, however, is that she wasn’t involved in the defeat by New Zealand three years ago.
She does not bear the scars that a lot of her teammates do. If things are tight on the scoreboard in the final quarter, her mind is not going to wander off to what happened in the 2022 final. Meg’s thought process will not be clouded by something she wasn’t a part of. It’s something that we really shouldn’t underestimate because it is only human nature for those who were part of that side to be affected by things that have gone before them.
England will have been scenario planning this week, preparing for every eventuality, including the worst case. They will have practised going down to 14 players but that is a delicate balance to strike because that can be triggering for those involved in 2022, when Lydia Thompson was sent off.
My concern, and I hope I’m wrong, is that we will see a red card. There have been reds in the past two World Cup finals – the men’s and the women’s – and we’ve seen it a lot in domestic finals in recent years. These are two extremely physical teams, desperate to get on the front foot in attack. In defence that means that you have to level up and be as robust as you possibly can. All week the messages are drummed into the players that they cannot give an inch but accuracy is so important because all it takes is six inches in the wrong direction and it’s a card. There is extra energy on occasions such as this but it is not always good energy.
Meg is going to be instrumental in making sure that England’s defence is on point against a dangerous Canada attack. It’s hard when you’re given less than two seconds every ruck – that’s what Canada are capable of – so for Meg it’s about seeing the picture clearly and early and being able to react to it. Canada also have huge threats outside – the Red Roses know all about the dangers posed by Asia Hogan-Rochester – so Meg’s ability to connect with her back three is also going to be crucial. All the more so because, in Alex Tessier, Canada have a fine ball-player at inside-centre who is more than capable of unlocking those threats out wide.
I’m so pleased that Meg is getting the recognition she deserves with her world player of the year nomination. I don’t think it’s overstating things to compare her as a player to Brian O’Driscoll. She has that uncanny ability to produce those moments that swing momentum with a big read or a turnover. She’s got a mean outside break, she’s capable of playing looping passes or pulling off cross-kicks, she’s got an all-court game. But in these tight matches she also sticks her head over the ball, in the spokes of the wheels and takes one for the team. Her real magic is just being so consistent and bringing the best out of everyone. For someone who has a complete skillset, her best attribute is her selflessness.
England’s back three have scored nearly 150 tries between them in their international careers and in Ellie Kildunne they’ve got the current world player of the year in their ranks. The game is built on tries and big hits but we don’t have to just celebrate that. The men’s world player of the year has never been won by a prop, the men’s Ballon d’Or has been won by a goalkeeper only once, it’s your stars, the goalscorers, the try-scorers. So I’m thrilled by Meg’s recognition.
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She’s such a big personality with the squad as well. She’s been through so much recently, losing both parents within the space of a few months last year. That is incredibly tough and she’s spoken so well about what she’s been through, admitting that going through that pain, that adversity, means everything else that she faces on a rugby field pales into comparison.
We saw the video footage of when it was announced that Meg had been nominated in the changing room. The first thing she does is cover her face and the reaction of all her teammates says everything about how they feel about her. She’s almost this contradiction of someone who is loud and an energy-giver but doesn’t want the spotlight or want to create headlines. In that moment she felt deeply uncomfortable but I’m so pleased she’s getting this individual recognition because she embodies so much of how you’d want any team to function. She’s a tough cookie but winning the World Cup feels like destiny for her. She is the personification of resilience and the character and the personality she brings to the team is amazing. She’s got so much grit. She’s super human.
