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Siwan Lillicrap column: No more second chances - we lose, we go home

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Published in Rugby
Wednesday, 26 October 2022 03:02

Here we go, we are into knockout rugby, there are no second chances. We lose and we are going home, it is as simple as that.

We were gutted not just with the result against Australia last weekend, but also with our performance - we did not give the best account of ourselves.

We could not get a foothold in the game, we had limited possession and territory - we spent just over a minute in their 22.

We had to leave it in the other nations' hands for us to qualify, which is never a nice place to be, you are watching the other games unfold thinking what is going to happen.

Fortunately things did go our way, we are in the quarter-finals which was our ultimate aim and we have drawn our old friends New Zealand again, so we have had to dust ourselves off pretty sharpish.

Fun in the sun

We had Sunday and Monday off to recharge and we spent a few hours down at Matapouri beach.

It was like summer back home, everyone was in bikinis and we were slapping on the factor 50!

We went out on massive six-person paddle boards with an instructor, it was really good fun. We started off on our knees and eventually all stood up.

A few of us were more intent on throwing each other off, though. I was on a board with Keira Bevan, Kerin Lake, Cara Hope, Natalia John and Kat Evans.

Keira pushed Natalia in, then Kerin went, and then she came for me.

I thought I had done well to survive. We were almost ashore, we were all standing smiling for our photographer Gareth, and then the instructor decided to jump off from the back and we all went in like dominos.

It was nice just to have a few hours where we could relax, let our hair down and just enjoy each other's company away from rugby.

But now we are back in training and fully focused on the week ahead.

Black Ferns reunion

We are relishing another chance to play the Black Ferns - we get to face the current champions in their home World Cup again, the Haka again - it does not get more exciting than that.

We know how it feels to play them, the intensity and physicality that they bring, especially around the contact area.

I read an article where their coach Wayne Smith said they are not underestimating us, which is a compliment. We caused them a few more problems than maybe they expected last time out.

The first 20 minutes against them was probably the best we played all tournament.

No regrets

There were spells where we really dominated, we just did not take our chances and we need to look at that this week.

With it being knockout rugby, we have got to throw everything at it, put our bodies on the line and take confidence from where we threatened them before.

Our ultimate message is to have no regrets. We do not want to come off that field feeling like we did against Australia.

We want to show the world what we have been working on and how far we have come - I do not think we have truly shown that yet. What better time to do it on Saturday?

This will be the third time we have played in Whangarei and the stadium atmosphere is superb.

There is a real buzz about the place with the stand on one side and the bank on the other, and it is probably going to be a sell-out crowd once again.

We know everyone is going to be cheering for the Black Ferns, but we have got to use that to our advantage and thrive off it.

We are the underdogs, there is no doubt about that, but that is not a bad thing sometimes.

All eyes are going to be on the Black Ferns, everyone is going to expect them to win. We are happy to go quietly under the radar and hopefully cause one of the biggest upsets in the women's game.

We have never beaten them before. Saturday would be a good day to make history.

Siwan Lillicrap was talking to BBC Sport Wales' Ceri Coleman-Phillips.

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