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Rugby World Cup 2025: Alternative team of the tournament
By Martyn Thomas reporting from London
The brief was simple. Select a team of players who have impressed at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 – with one slight twist.
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No member of the squads who made the semi-finals – Canada, England, France and New Zealand – was eligible for this hypothetical team.
From the outset I should say that this is a subjective process. These 15 players are the ones who have left an impression on me.
You may well disagree with my assessment, and I hope you can forgive the positional sleight of hand in the back row.
But without further ado, here is my alternative team of the World Cup…
15. Byrhandre Dolf (South Africa)
Any full-back who gets lifted in the lineout deserves praise. But Dolf impressed in England for so much more than Swys de Bruin’s set-piece chicanery.
Was never far from the action as South Africa made it to a first ever women’s World Cup quarter-final and was integral to the effort that gave the Black Ferns a scare in Exeter. Kicked 27 points, including 16 against Brazil.
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14. Desiree Miller (Australia)
Opened her campaign with a hat-trick against Samoa and backed that up with another two in the 31-31 draw with USA in York.
No player who didn’t make the semis scored more than her six tries. Usually lines up on the left wing but we’ve moved her across the pitch for this one.
13. Emma Orr (Scotland)
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A brilliant player who makes those around her better. Scored two tries, one apiece against Wales and Fiji but there is so much more to her game than that.
Orr’s best performance came in the Salford rain against Fiji in week two. The centre made 69 metres from only six carries, creating the space for her teammates to exploit in a 29-15 victory that could easily have got away from them.
12. Josifini Neihamu (Fiji)
The architect of Fiji’s famous Pool B victory against Wales. Neihamu’s two first-half tries set the tone and she laid on another before the break as the Fijiana turned around 28-15 in front.
But the Wales game was not Neihamu’s only stellar performance. She almost pulled her side over the line against Scotland the week before and was deservedly nominated for World Rugby Women’s Breakthrough Player of the Year.
11. Francesca McGhie (Scotland)
Seasoned PWR and Women’s Six Nations viewers would not have been surprised to see the impact McGhie made during the pool stage.
A brilliant hat-trick in Scotland’s opening victory against Wales was followed by a decisive brace against Fiji and a sixth of the tournament in defeat to Canada. Her 11 clean breaks were bettered only by Braxton Sorensen-McGee heading into the final weekend.
10. Helen Nelson (Scotland)
The player who kept Scotland playing in the right areas of the pitch and added more than a little creativity to their backline, working almost telepathically with Lisa Thomson and Orr outside her.
Ended her tournament with 19 points and an enhanced reputation.
9. Nadine Roos (South Africa)
Another Bok who got amongst the forwards at lineout time. Perhaps the most memorable moment of that quarter-final for Roos came when the diminutive scrum-half peeled off a scrum to the blindside and started a driving maul.
Played brilliantly at full-back in the early stages of the tournament but it is at nine that she earns her place in our side. A relentless runner and expert distributor, Roos was key to the Springbok Women’s historic campaign.
1. Hope Rogers (USA)
Came off second best from her duel with Hannah Botterman on opening night but she is far from alone in that.
No player did more than Rogers to try to get the USA over the line and into a quarter-final. Rogers made 48 carries in her three appearances in England, scoring three tries in the process.
2. Lana Skeldon (Scotland)
The pointed arrow at the tip of Scotland’s set-piece, the only thing missing for Skeldon at the end of an impressive tournament was a try.
Skeldon came under pressure at the set-piece in Scotland’s quarter-final defeat to England but was otherwise exemplary.
3. Babalwa Latsha (South Africa)
Captained her country for the first time at a World Cup during the pool stage and was an ever-present as the Springbok Women made the quarters.
Her try against the Black Ferns in Exeter gave South Africa a 5-0 lead and she was an integral part of the effort that rattled the six-time world champions.
4. Yuna Sato (Japan)
An ever-present in the Japan engine room that recovered from back-to-back defeats to finish their tournament on a high against Spain.
In that victory against Las Leonas, Sato was a presence on both sides of the ball while forming part of a perfect set-piece performance. An option at the lineout, Sato finished her tournament having made 82% of her tackles.
5. Sam Monaghan (Ireland)
It was a World Cup of ‘what ifs’ for Ireland as they flattered to deceive amid a crippling injury list. But co-captain Sam Monaghan can be happy with her personal contribution.
Led the team superbly throughout and repeatedly put her body on the line. In the quarter-final defeat to France, Monaghan made 16 carries – almost all into heavy traffic – in search of the score that would have taken her side through.
6. Evie Gallagher (Scotland)
OK, so this is a bit of a stretch. Gallagher is a No.8 who played openside against England, but she’s also too good to leave out.
Two tries, four turnovers, 44 carries, 69 tackles and one viral clip of her pulling her shorts up en route to the try line helped to make Gallagher one of the standout stars of the World Cup.
7. Sinazo Mcatshulwa (South Africa)
A crucial cog in the high-tempo system that South Africa played in England, Mcatshulwa showed up on both sides of the ball.
Fifty-five carries for 148 metres and one try across 261 minutes tells its own story. As does the fact she completed 91% of her tackles and won three turnovers.
8. Aseza Hele (South Africa)
Arguably the standout player of a breakthrough tournament for South Africa, there was only one name in serious contention for the No.8 jersey.
Four tries and an assist from 204 minutes tells only part of the story. Hele has been a colossus at the base of the Springbok Women scrum for some time, and it was no different in England.
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