As a sign of just how evenly matched those semi-finals were, each team got at least two players in the Fantasy Team of the Week, but it was New Zealand, despite their convincing 34-19 defeat, who led the way with six.
Props
England's Hannah Botterman (59pts) returns to a fantasy team of the week for the first time since week one. She didn’t play against Samoa or Scotland and had very little ball against Australia in the final group game but came storming back against France to match her first round total. She also assisted a try as England made yet another final.
New Zealander Chryss Viliko (52pts) saved her best performance for the semi-final as the Black Fern assisted a try and tackled her heart out for 66 minutes.
Hooker
Georgia Ponsonby (75pts) doubles up after making the Team of the Week in the quarter finals. Her 21 tackles led New Zealand as did her two dominant tackles. Overall, she has 204pts in the fantasy game.
Currently the hooker category is led by Emily Tuttosi (CAN) with 205pts. That will come down to the wire between those two unless Amy Cokayne (ENG) has a storming final, she is currently on 180pts.
Second-rows
Canada's Sophie de Goede (92pts) continues her exceptional streak of making every single fantasy team of the week, and she has led the second rows in four of the five weeks. More of the same this week as de Goede racked up her second highest points total thanks to a try, from a wonderful Justine Pelletier offload, and nine other points off the tee. Her nerveless late penalty saw the game home.
Abbie Ward (42pts) scored a try against France but was also dominant at the lineout, winning three fantasy points from winning her own lineout and five from pinching opposition ball. Expect to see more of the same in the final.
Loose forwards
Kaipo Olsen-Baker (73pts) must have slept well on Friday night. The Black Fern made 34 carries against Canada. That is eight more than the next highest; Aoife Wafer (IRE) with 26 in her side’s quarter-final. Not content with that, Olsen-Baker also made 14 carries to rank in the top ten for the game.
Zoe Aldcroft (44pts) hit a tournament high with her points total. That came thanks to a relentless defensive effort where she made 24 tackles, the second most for the game behind teammate Sadia Kabeya (27).
Liane Mikaele-Tu’u (38pts) joins teammate Olsen-Baker to complete the back row. Her 38pts was her second highest points total and came thanks to a try and 15 tackles, the third most for a Black Fern.
Scrum-half
Justine Pelletier (71pts) was exceptional as she led Canada to a semi-final victory. She scored a try for herself but was also responsible for the moment of the tournament, in my view, as she sniped around the ruck and as she was falling to the ground flicked the ball out of her hand and into the mitts of teammate de Goede for an outrageous try.
Fly-half
Ruahei Demant (37pts) has had a quieter World Cup this time around. Acting as a link player she has helped create opportunities for others which don’t always appear in the fantasy stats. Against Canada, her impact was more immediate as she created three line break assists and a try assist as New Zealand fell just short.
Centres
Nassira Konde (70pts) didn’t beat her second round points total of 108pts achieved against Brazil but she still leads the way among centres this week. Konde scored two tries and assisted two line breaks as she tried to unlock the English defence.
Alongside her was Marine Ménager (59pts) making it a French midfield. She made three line breaks and assisted another plus she was the only French player to carry for over 100m.
Outside Backs
Ellie Kildunne (102pts) top scored this round thanks to 225m carried, 3m more than her previous best against the USA. Plus she led with 15m per carry and scored two tries to take her beyond 100pts for the second time, tied with Braxton Sorensen-McGee.
Asia Hogan-Rochester (59pts) led the match with three line breaks, one of which led to her try. Her 88m were also the second most among Canadian players and fourth most in the match.
Braxton Sorensen-McGee (55pts) had a relatively quiet match by her standards but it ensures her team of the week run continues into a fourth week. She scored a try, her ninth of the tournament, which also continues that run into the fourth week plus she assisted two line breaks as well. Some quiet match hey?
