England’s Lydia Thompson SENT OFF in World Cup final following a ‘reckless’ tackle
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England’s Lydia Thompson SENT into the World Cup final just 18 minutes after a ‘reckless, frontal tackle’… while the Red Roses fall heartbreakingly short with 14 players and go down 34-31 to death
- England Women faced New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday
- However, they were reduced to 14 players after Lydia Thompson was sent off
- She was shown a red card 18 minutes after making frontal contact
- England therefore had to play for just over an hour with a player down
- The Red Roses conceded a late attempt to lose 34-31 despite a brave performance
England were reduced to 14 before suffering a late defeat in Saturday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand.
At the iconic Eden Park, which sold out for the showpiece, it was a repeat of the 2017 final when the Black Ferns came out on top again.
England lost 41-32 on that occasion and were looking for revenge after reaching the final after winning 30 consecutive games.
Lydia Thompson was sent off against New Zealand after 18 minutes of the World Cup final
However, after England had made a blood-curdling start to the final by leading 14-0 after 13 minutes, disaster struck five minutes later.
New Zealand attacked from the wing, while Portia Woodman charged towards England’s 22 when Ellie Kildunne managed to use some sort of tackle to slow her down.
But just before Woodman passed the ball in, Lydia Thompson appeared desperate to attempt a tackle, but made frontal contact.
Referee Hollie Davidson described the tackle as ‘reckless’ and ‘obvious frontal contact’
England fought bravely with 14 players, but narrowly lost the final by a narrow margin of 34-31
According to the laws, that immediately means a red card.
After a review by the TMO, Referee Hollie Davidson was told, “There’s a clear frontal contact, she comes across quickly, it’s reckless and I don’t see any mitigation.”
As a result, Thompson was fired with an outright red card.
Woodman meanwhile also left the field and was replaced by Ayesha Leti-I’iga after he appeared to have been knocked out in the collision.
Heartbreakingly, despite a brave performance, England lost 14 women 34-31 due to a late try six minutes from time.
This meant New Zealand won their sixth ever World Cup and their sixth of the last seven editions of the tournament.