Fran Kirby believes England’s record-breaking Red Roses can build on the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 success with victory of their own at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, which starts next week.
Football fever swept the nation when England’s Lionesses stormed to glory on home soil in the summer, and Kirby feels the Red Roses, who are on a 25-game winning streak heading into the tournament, can show Women’s sport in this country is on the way to the very top.
“I hope the Euros win can have an impact on Women’s rugby,” said Kirby, who was speaking exclusively to LADbible at the premiere of the Wear The Rose documentary, which starts tonight on ITV.
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“Women’s sport is at a point now where it is ready for it. It’s ready for each sport on its own to generate that popularity.
“On the back of the summer we can hopefully get more people to support women’s sport in general, not just football. If we didn’t have the support we did in the summer I don’t know if the outcome would have been the same. It’s important to have that support behind you going into a major tournament and hopefully the country really get behind the girls.”
The Red Roses head to New Zealand as tournament favourite, and while that creates extra pressure, the Chelsea and England striker believes they are more than capable of coping with that.
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“Anything can happen in tournaments, it’s a completely different feeling than any other tournament,” she added.
“This is the World Cup, this is the pinnacle of any sport, of course there is that added pressure. I’m sure the girls have gone through steps so the pressure doesn’t come in and I fully believe they can deal with that pressure and go on and win it.”
Red Roses’ Bryony Cleall missed out on the squad for the World Cup in New Zealand but has full confidence in her twin sister Poppy and the rest of the team to bring it home and give Rugby Union the perfect platform to build on for when England hosts the World Cup in 2025.
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“If you ask anyone in the Red Roses camp, they’d say we have to win the World Cup,” said the 30-year-old Saracens prop.
“We can’t have put a world record number of wins together and then fall at the final hurdle. To be the greatest team in the world you must win the World Cup so it’s not too much pressure, it’s just what we all want.
“I feel we’ll be in the media’s eye a bit more at this World Cup too, and that will help and push us on for when it’s here in 2025.”
Former England international and commentator Brian Moore believes the main challengers at the World Cup will come in the shape of the hosts New Zealand and France.
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“New Zealand are at home and that advantage can go both ways. It can put pressure on you, or it can be inspiring,” he said.
“They are the sort of team that if you give them an early lead in front of a home crowd, they are quite capable of undoing you. France were well put away in the Grand Slam game last season but they are a similar side as well that they’ve got enough athleticism and power to match England. I think it will come from those three. England are the best team, but they have got to play like it.”
Kirby, Cleall and Moore were speaking at the Premiere of ITV’s two-part documentary, Wear The Rose, which airs tonight at 10.50pm.
Thomas Thorn