World Cup 3rd Place: (3) England Stops (4) Australia, 203-85

By Lex Talionis, Last updated Tue Dec 6 2011 3:00am

TORONTO, ON -- The penultimate game of the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup saw one of sports' oldest and most hard-fought rivalries taken to the flat track for the very first time. England came into the game as favourites after a number of crushing victories on their way to a semifinal defeat at the hands of Canada. Australia upset Germany earlier in the tournament before racking up the victories until a demolition by the Team USA juggernaut in their semi-final put them in the third-place game.

Australia started very strongly when they ran out into 44-15 lead inside the first ten minutes, but a 99-0 scoring run for England put paid to the Australian's hopes of an upset. England then dominated the second half to run out 203-85 winners.

Bambi von Smasher opened the bout jamming against Stefanie Mainey. A scrum start saw Bambi stuck behind Grievous Bodily Charm, Juicy Lucy, Vagablonde and Ninjette as Mainey grabbed lead. She was stuck in the pack for Mainey's first pass, and escaped just as Mainey made it 9-0.

Kamikaze Kitten then got the better of Rose Ruin, and called it after picking up three. Jack Attack took the star in jam three and took advantage of a 4:2 pack to get out first, but was boxed on a major cut. An 21-2 jam for Shorstop let the Aussies take the lead 21-15. Rose Ruin then took lead over Missy Rascal--but called it 0-0 once she was overtaken.

A 4-0 for Cookie Cutter gave Australia a ten-point lead with 22 minutes left. Vagablonde was then boxed for a major back block and Ladykiller extended Australia's lead to 44-15 as Vagablonde left the box. England then called a time-out to try and stem the bleeding.

A full minute expired before the jammers were released in the next jam, but Stefanie Mainey wasted no time grabbed lead within seconds. Shortstop found herself on her way to the box and Mainey racked up 15 points before the jam clock expired. Kamikaze Kitten started the next jam unopposed and got lead and scored five before Shortstop got out of the box--and ran up the score as Shortstop was stuck in the pack to take the lead 45-44 with sixteen minutes left in the half.

Lead for Jack Attack then let her extend England's lead to 49-44 as Australia ran into penalty trouble. The next jam started with only one Australian blocker on the track which allowed Kamikaze Kitten to get lead over Rose Ruin. Rose eventually broke free after a lengthy spell behind Raw Heidi, but not before Kamikaze Kitten had made it 54-44.

Juicy Luicy added four over Ladykiller before Vagablonde came to the jammer line with a 3-2 pack advantage for England. She made very short work of the Australian micropack but didn't get called lead, although she still managed to pick four points on the board before Bambi Von Smasher escaped to call it.

A 4-0 for Kamikaze Kitten was followed by a big powerjam for Jack Attack as Bambi von Smasher hit the box twice. Missy Rascal then lined up unopposed to grab lead as England isolated an Australian at the back. England ran into penalty trouble of their own--but it wasn't enough to stem the flow of points as Missy Rascal made it 99-44.

Juicy Lucy took England past the century mark as Ninjette controlled Shortstop. Rogue Runner and Bambi Von Smasher were both boxed -- but Bambi managed to get 3 points in the jam to end Australia's 99-0 run to leave the scores at 106-47. She was boxed again right at the end, though, letting Kamikaze Kitten start the next jam unopposed to rack up ten points before calling it with Bambi still in the box.

Jack Attack was boxed on a major track cut before getting lead in the final jam of the half thanks to a big hit from Rose Ruin--and Rose ended the half on a high for Australia as she moved the scores to 116-62 as the first half ended in high drama as she tangled with Vagablonde at the death that saw the England star ejected for gross misconduct after a major out of play block.

Shortstop picked up a quickfire 4-0 to open the second half for Australia as Jack Attack was still in the box. A 4-0 for Kamikaze Kitten restored England's lead, and a 3-0 for Jack Attack extended it. Ninjette and Grievous Bodily Charm then controlled Shortstop in the pack for long enough for Kamikaze Kitten to take the England lead to 140-66 with 23 minutes left in the game.

Mainey then scored 3 as England sped the pack to run down penalty time. Four for Rogue Runner followed, but Rose Ruin broke another long scoring run for England with a 4-0 to take the score to 147-70 with a little over 20 minutes left on the clock. Rogue Runner took England to 150 before Stefanie Mainey took England's lead to 100 points with Ladykiller stuck behind Juicy Lucy.

Cookie Cutter put up four for Australia before Rogue Runner re-established the 100-pont margin. Bambi von Smasher then got lead, but England grouped at the front of the pack and kept the speed up to restrict her to a solitary point. Jack Attack and Ladykiller traded blows and points in the next jam to take the scores to 177-78 with 11 minutes to go.

The score hovered around the 100-point mark as both teams ran into penalty trouble. England kept their box full, and go-to blocker Muzzarati fouled out for Australia with a little over 8 minutes to go. Some tight jams were edged by England to take their lead to 191-78 with five minutes to go.

Two tight jams pushed the score to 198-85 as the period clock approached zero. A 5-0 jam for Rogue Runner closed out the bout, leaving England 203-85 winners.