The old adage that sport can be cruel was proven again as 14-woman England lost the Rugby World Cup final to hosts New Zealand.
The Red Roses went down 34-31 in arguably the greatest ever final at a rugby world cup, having been a player short for more than an hour.
Lydia Thompson's dismissal had came after two tries and a storming start for England but even after the Black Ferns fought back, they still had a chance to snatch the trophy on the last play.
A five-metre line-out went awry though to hand England a first defeat in 31 tests and rob them of the title.
Speaking to ITV Sport immediately after the final whistle, captain Sarah Hunter said: "I’m gutted but I’m so proud of the team, we came out fighting.
"We had our backs against the wall for, what, 60 minutes but we never gave up.
"One result doesn’t define the squad that we are, the people we are.
"Hopefully what we have created in terms of women's rugby has inspired the next generation back home and given them something to be proud of.
"Sport is cruel, sport doesn't end the way you want to. Credit to New Zealand, they kept coming, they found a way and they go home as deserved champions.
"But we can be proud. We left no stone unturned and that's what we wanted to do. Regardless of the result, if we could leave everything on the pitch, we could be proud of ourselves.
"It will take time. We are hurting, the squad is hurting but we'll stay together and we'll get through that hurt together."
The cruel nature off sport was doubly so for two of the three ex-Welwyn players in the squad, both Hannah Botterman and Helena Rowland ruled out before kick-off with injuries.
Zoe Harrison did start and was on the field when England scored five of the 11 tries in a pulsating contest.
They were 26-19 ahead at half-time too before the home comeback but regardless of the final score, head coach Simon Middleton was still delighted by what they have achieved.
He said: "I am so proud of the players, they gave absolutely everything, not just tonight but for the last 51 days we've been here.
"It is tough with 14 players for that long but New Zealand played a great brand of rugby.
"They put us under pressure, we put them under pressure, it went right down to the wire and could have gone either way at the end.
"Those are the twists that happen in a game. We got beaten by a side that just had a bit more than us."
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