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'Legends': New Zealand PM hails women's Rugby World Cup champions
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday hailed the New Zealand women's rugby team as "legends" during celebrations marking last month's World Cup triumph.
The hosts staged a dramatic fightback to win the final at Auckland's sold-out Eden Park 34-31 over England, who had been on a 30-match winning streak.
A noisy crowd of about 1,000 people cheered the team following a reception hosted by Ardern at New Zealand's parliament in Wellington on Tuesday.
Broadcaster Spark says 1.3 million New Zealanders -- about a quarter of the population -- tuned in to see the hosts win the final on November 12.
"We will remember where we were when we watched those games during the World Cup but we will especially remember where we were for that final," Ardern told the crowd.
She quoted a sign she saw at Eden Park -- "they're not girls, they're legends" -- in thanking the squad for "making our national game everybody's game".
"Thank you for showing girls that they can do anything," she added. "Thank you for being world champions."
New Zealand have won six of the nine editions of the women's Rugby World Cup but this was the first time they had lifted the title on home soil. They were defending champions.
Black Ferns centre Stacey Fluhler, who scored a try in the second-half fightback, said the World Cup win had given women's rugby a huge boost in New Zealand.
"So many more people are talking about it," she told AFP.
"I am going to be honest -- when I was growing up I had no idea who the Black Ferns were.
"But you see these kids out here now," she added, gesturing at the Wellington crowd.
"They know exactly who we are. They know the players, they know it's a profession they can pursue.
"It's given us much more exposure."
A. Lefebvre--BTZ
