1. South Africa ‘change history for women’s rugby’
On a day brimful of emotion and record-setting excellence (see below) South Africa just about stole the headlines on Sunday as they qualified for the knockout stages of a Women’s Rugby World Cup for the very first time.
Check out what it meant to a team ranked 12th in the world:
2. Silva surges from favelas into Brazilian record books
Incredibly, Brazil’s Bianca Silva almost upstaged the Springbok Women all on her own.
Hailing from a favela outside Sao Paulo and having found her life passion through the non-profit programme Rugby Para Todos (rugby for all) Silva etched her name forever into the history books with the stunning score below v France – her nation’s first ever at a Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Her coach hopes it will be “a point of growth for rugby in Brazil” while her teammates looked like they will never stop celebrating it…
3. All hail Woodman-Wickliffe: the “female Jonah Lomu”
Here is the historic moment Portia Woodman-Wickliffe became New Zealand’s all-time greatest try scorer, surpassing All Black Doug Howlett:
Fifty tries in 30 test matches, including a record 22 in RWC matches, it is no wonder her captain had this to say about the extraordinary winger:
“I think a lot of people call P the female Jonah Lomu. She is the most influential women’s rugby player in the world,” Black Fern Ruahei Demant said simply.
As for Woodman-Wickliffe herself, it was modesty as usual: “I saw KV [Katelyn Vahaakolo] there and I was like, ‘so I’m going to score this one and get it out of the way’, so I don’t think about it for the rest of the game!”
4. Records continue to tumble
The second weekend of action was full of smiles, tries and exhausted statisticians. The women above had their moments in the sun, but there were a whole lot more too.
In the very first match on Saturday, Canadian second-row Tyson Beukeboom became her nation’s equal most-capped rugby player of all-time. Given her, and her team’s excellence so far, she is likely to make that title all her own very soon.
Elsewhere, it might not have been the result Italy’s Sofia Stefan wanted against South Africa, but 100 caps is a monumental feat whichever way you look at it. A mark, prop Linda Djougang is hoping she will inspire some young Ireland players to hit one day.
“For me it’s even beyond a dream because I never really imagined that I would reach this milestone,” said Djougang who won her 50th cap against Spain on Sunday. “I don’t think I have played with someone that gained 50 caps. For me to be able to be that role model for them, it’s amazing. I want them to hit the 100 if they can, and show that this dream is limitless, just go for it.”
5. Family affair for debut RWC try scorer Perez
Spanish flier Claudia Perez has rugby running through her veins. Not only did her parents meet through the sport, and all her siblings play it, but also, she is not the first Perez to pull on the Las Leonas international shirt.
“It is a dream for rugby families such as ours. We’ve been living it with a lot of excitement from the start, since last week, and for us it is a dream come true,” said mum Luisa (seen below), who represented Spain in her youth.
Watching her daughter on Sunday score her first ever RWC try v Ireland, was beyond special for the proud parent.
“We lived it as if we were with her on the field,” a beaming Perez senior said.
Support that the try scorer absolutely loves. “They’re my biggest fans and it’s really amazing to play a World Cup and also see all of them, we are a really big family,” Claudia said. “So watching them with posters and my name on their clothes, it’s amazing.”
6. ‘No colon, still rollin”
If you are feeling a little sluggish this Monday morning, let us inspire you with a clip from USA scrum-half Cassidy Bargell: