Zoe Aldcroft, Ellie Kildunne and Tatyana Heard suffer World Cup final heartbreak with Red Roses

Scarborough’s Zoe Aldcroft, Keighley’s Ellie Kildunne and Kirkbymoorside’s Tatyana Heard all played valiantly but were ultimately left devastated as New Zealand won a thrilling advert for women’s rugby in front of 40,000 fans at Eden Park.

The Black Ferns ran out 34-31 winners despite trailing for most of the match against a Red Roses side who had to dig in for more than an hour with a player down after Lydia Thompson was sent off.

It was heartbreak for Simon Middleton’s team who threw everything at the tournament hosts, with Amy Cokayne helping herself to three tries.

Kildunne actually got England off to a flier with a try inside three minutes and although they built a 14-0 lead shortly after, the game swung on the dismissal of Thompson for a high challenge.

Aldcroft, the reigning world player of the year, went off with a head injury towards the end of the first half and never returned.

England captain Sarah Hunter saluted a “special group” of Red Roses after what for her was heartbreak in a World Cup final for a second time.

Despite facing the tournament hosts in front of a sold-out Eden Park a player down, Hunter was convinced her side, who led for much of the match, would find a way to come out on top.

Choking back tears, Hunter said: “I had absolute belief that they would do it. There was never any doubt that we wouldn’t find a way to win.

“There was no panic, we just had absolute faith in what we were doing. Unfortunately it didn’t work out our way.

“We’re as one. We win together and lose together. There is no blame culture in this team. We’re all accountable for whether we win or lose.

“We can be proud of the squad we have become. The girls left everything out on the field. Our backs against the wall for 60 minutes of the game. To be in with a shot of winning right at the end…

“This is a very special group and we can be immensely proud of what we have done as a team over these last eight weeks.

“One game doesn’t define you.”

A frantic first half saw seven tries and England led 26-19 at the break.

Second-half tries from Stacey Fluhler and Krystal Murray fired the Black Ferns ahead and, although Cokayne’s hat-trick try edged England back in front, Ayesha Leti-I’iga finished off a fine move late in the game for what proved to be the match-winning try.

England coach Middleton, the former Castleford Tigers player who led England on a 30-match unbeaten run up to the final, said: “It was a great game. Fitting of a World Cup final.

"Great occasion and a final to match.”

England had an opportunity from the lineout at the death and he said: “I thought, ‘someone is going to have a great 30 seconds here’ but it didn’t happen. Sometimes things are written in the stars and I think it has been for the Black Ferns in this tournament.”

On Thompson’s 18th-minute red card for a high tackle on Portia Woodman, Middleton said: “She is pretty upset. She is devastated. It is just an unfortunate clash of heads. There was no malice in it whatsoever. It took two of the best players in the world out of the game.

“We looked at how we could adapt in attack and defence. We adapted as we went along. The game was challenging enough as it was and then there were a few more things thrown in there.

"But I could not be more proud of the players.”

Middleton was full of praise for his opposite number Wayne Smith.

He said: “As soon as Wayne was put in charge he enhanced their chances of winning the World Cup. He is one of the best coaches ever.

“The Black Ferns deserve the trophy. They have ridden every storm and come out the other side of it. We are privileged to have been in that game tonight giving everything we could.”

Middleton refused to answer questions about his plans going forward with a home tournament coming in 2025, adding: “We are all going to get together tonight and celebrate a brilliant team.”

Winning coach Smith said: “I have never been more proud of a team. We just wanted to go out and play and be true to our DNA.

“I am not going to stay involved but I will be following these women for the rest of their careers. It is not just the 23 today, we have some global superstars coming through.

“I just think the future’s great.”