“I don’t know what win streak we’re on” – Zoe Harrison Focused On World Cup Win
Red Roses fly-half Zoe Harrison has insisted that England’s record-breaking feats are firmly at the back of their minds as the squad remains laser-focused on lifting the 2021 Rugby World Cup.
The Red Roses 84-19 victory over Fiji last weekend means they have now won 26 games on the bounce, extending their world-record run of consecutive victories. That game also saw another record broken by England, their 14-try haul beating their own previous record for most in a World Cup match.
But Zoe Harrison, who slotted two conversions in their opening round match, maintained that records and win-streaks are not important when there’s a World Cup at stake.
“It going to sound bad, but I don’t know what win streak we’re on” said Harrison. “For me, I just want to win games. It doesn’t matter what game it is, it doesn’t matter what streak we’re on … I don’t care, I just want to win the game that’s coming this weekend, and win the tournament.
Harrison also commented on the ease in which the squad have settled in New Zealand despite their variation in World Cup experience.
“It seems easy. You’ve got girls like Marlie Packer, Sarah Hunter, Alex Matthews always checking up on people, asking if they’re alright. I know this is a World Cup but we’ve been in so many camp environments together … Our weeks are sort of the same as they normally are, it’s natural for the girls, but obviously you get those World Cup nerves being on such a big stage”
Asked what England made of France’s performance against South Africa and how they might approach them on the weekend, Harrison cited the Red Roses’ wealth of experience against this weekend’s opponents.
“We know how France play, we’ve played them so much. We’ve had so many big final games against them, Autumn games, Six Nations games, so we know what they can do. It’s not just watching them against South Africa, we know what comes at us every time we play them.
“France are France, whether it’s the men’s or the girl’s team. It’s the France way, is what we’d call it”
But Harrison kept her cards close to her chest when asked if the Red Roses would be looking to target France’s star players, such as 2022 TikTok Six Nations Player of the Tournament Laure Sansus.
“I think for us we’ll have a process. There’s 15 players on the park, 23 who can play overall; we’re not going to be able to target one person, their a whole team they’re a good team … We’ll make a plan, we’ll have a process and it’s just sticking to that”.
England take on France in Pool C on Saturday, 15th October at 20:00 NZT (08:00 UK/IRE time) at the Waitākere Stadium.
