Lydia Thompson red carded for sickening head clash with Portia Woodman at World Cup final

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Portia Woodman was taken off the field in a medicab after appearing to be knocked out from a head clash.

England’s Lydia Thompson was shown a red card in the World Cup final for a head on head collision with Black Ferns star winger Portia Woodman.

The incident will be a huge talking point from the finalm regardless of the result and while most of the sold out crowd at Eden Park were yelling for a red card, England fans could argue it was an unfortunate accident.

The collision happened in the 18th minute, with England leading 14-0. Woodman passed the ball inside her, but Thompson was running in her direction at pace and their heads clashed a moment after Woodman released the ball.

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Woodman lay on the ground just outside the field of play, near England’s 22m line.

Play continued for a short while, although Woodman did receive medical treatment, once the ball was turned over, referee Hollie Davidson from Scotland, blew her whistle and asked TV match official Ben Whitehouse to show her what happened.

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Medics were quick to rush to Portia Woodman as she lay on the ground.

Viewing a replay on the big screen, Davidson said: “For me it’s clear head on head, she’s coming across at speed, it’s a reckless action, so it’s a red card for me.”

As Thompson made her way off the field she looked distraught at what happened, but saw no point in arguing her case.

But as well as it being the end of the game for Thompson, that was also the case for Woodman, who was replaced by Ayesha Leti-l’iga.

Woodman left the field on a medicab, looking aware of her surroundings and it seemed already understanding her World Cup was over.

Unlike in Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship, there isn’t a rule where a player red carded player can be replaced by a team-mate after 20 minutes. So England were forced to battle on for over an hour having a player less on the field than New Zealand.

The last sending off at a World Cup at Eden Park came at the men’s tournament in 2011, when Wales captain Sam Warburton was shown a red card for a late tackle on France’s Vincent Clerc, coincidently also in the 18th minute.