Australia co-captain Ali Brigginshaw hailed the Jillaroos’ third consecutive Women’s Rugby League World Cup success and vowed to target a fourth career title attempt in France in 2025.
The 32-year-old Brigginshaw was the inspiration behind her side’s 10-try, 54-4 rout of New Zealand at Old Trafford in a display which underscored the mighty gulf between the Australians and the rest of the women’s game.
Brigginshaw has been integral to her side’s rise to a position of complete domination, having featured in both the 2013 and 2017 triumphs and sealed her stellar tournament with a second consecutive World Cup final player of the match award.
“I’ve forgotten what age I am, but to all those people who said I’m too old, I’m still here and I’m going to France,” Brigginshaw said in an emotional on-pitch interview moments after her side’s convincing win.
“That was unbelievable from the girls. We focused on defence and I have never been part of a group that can defend like that – it was something special.
“We never rested and we just let them cross once, which is something we are probably still kicking ourselves about. We had a focus, we’re a committed group and we’re really proud of ourselves.”
I've forgotten what age I am, but to all those people who said I'm too old, I'm still here and I'm going to France— Ali Brigginshaw
Jessica Sergis, Kennedy Cherrington and Isabelle Kelly all crossed twice for the Jillaroos whilst the Kiwi Ferns, who had pushed their opponents to within two points in the group stages, responded through a solitary score from Madison Bartlett by which time the game was long lost.
Kiwis coach Ricky Henry conceded his side did not do themselves justice, saying: “They put the pressure on us early in the game and they had a couple of results there, and it snowballed from there.
“We tried to give ourselves a chance but we probably played our worst game out there today. We were miles apart today, we sort of froze and we didn’t get the job done but I’m really proud of what the players have done in this campaign.”
