![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/why-world-cup-final-defeat-is-such-a-bitter-pill-to-swallow/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TELEMMGLPICT000315938170_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqxLMytfrx7BzpGzowMJFtLP4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg&description=I stood there and just felt nothing." I thought I would bring you some thoughts and words of a Harlequins and England player who has lost in a Rugby World Cup final. No, these are not mine, though I am one of that unhappy band. Rather those of Quins prop, Shaunagh Brown, speaking after England had just lost 34-31 to New Zealand. What she says is interesting on many levels, as it does not just give insight into her persona, it touches on unique features of sport and why it stands apart as a category in life. England were favourites for the final, even with the Black Ferns having home advantage. They began at a sprint, racing into a 14-point lead but in the 17th, minute were reduced to 14 players when Lydia Thompson was sent off for a head-to-head contact with New Zealand winger Portia Woodman. From that point forward, the Kiwis clawed their way back into the game. They overturned a 19-26 points deficit at half-time and eventually took the lead, which they held until the final whistle. It was a dramatic denouement to a spectacular game, which showed how far women's rugby developed. Only intractable misogynists would criticise the skill, athleticism, and commitment of both teams. It was the best game of last weekend, irrespective of gender. Explaining her feeling of emptiness, Brown said: "To some people that might sound odd." Not to me, it is exactly how I felt after losing to Australia in 1991 at Twickenham. Not angry, not tearful – just numb. Like last Saturday my lost final was a thrilling game of entertaining rugby. That does not matter, in a World Cup final winning is all that counts – it really is. Brown then reflected on the fact that it was not just that 80 minutes that were condensed in the result, it was the many, many months of preparation and sacrifice that went before. It was the hope of family and friends. It was the expectancy of all England rugby fans and those of us who wanted the win to evidence the wisdom of the RFU's decision to fund a professional){kind=link}
Shaunagh Brown’s admission that she felt nothing but numb after losing to the Black Ferns mirrored my own emotions from 31 years ago
I stood there and just felt nothing.”
I thought I would bring you some thoughts and words of a Harlequins and England player who has lost in a Rugby World Cup final.
No, these are not mine, though I am one of that unhappy band. Rather those of Quins prop, Shaunagh Brown, speaking after England had just lost 34-31 to New Zealand. What she says is interesting on many levels, as it does not just give insight into her persona, it touches on unique features of sport and why it stands apart as a category in life.
England were favourites for the final, even with the Black Ferns having home advantage. They began at a sprint, racing into a 14-point lead but in the 17th, minute were reduced to 14 players when Lydia Thompson was sent off for a head-to-head contact with New Zealand winger Portia Woodman.