The representatives of the maple leaf fought hard, but they had to admit defeat by a score of 26-19 against the toughest opponents, Saturday, in the semi-finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Posted at 11:34 a.m.
For the occasion, the players of Canada had an appointment with the big favourites, the representatives of England, at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
The “Red Roses”, first in the world rankings, were quick to demonstrate their intentions in this hard-fought match. They got off to a flying start to build a 12-0 lead after 15 minutes.
The Canadians didn’t give up, however, and managed to bounce back thanks to tries from Karen Paquin and Alysha Corrigan, bringing the two teams evenly matched.
The English, however, took advantage of the precision of Emily Scarratt to regain the advantage just a few moments later. They got three points on a successful kick to retreat to the locker room ahead 15-12 at the half.
Things then got complicated for the Canadians who conceded nine unanswered points to their opponents on the restart. A try from Ontario’s Tyson Beukeboom gave hope to coach Kevin Rouet’s troops in the 68e minute of play, but they could not come from behind a second time.
Scarratt followed that up with his third field goal of the game, allowing his squad to slip away with a 26-19 victory and a ticket to the Grand Final.
Note that Quebecers Elissa Alarie, Justine Pelletier, Anaïs Isabelle Holly, Fabiola Forteza, Alexandra Tessier and Ngalula Fuamba were also in uniform for this duel.
The Canadians, who had previously won their four encounters at this World Cup, will play the bronze final next Saturday. They will try to win the second medal in the history of the country at this event after the silver one collected in Paris in 2014.
For the occasion, they will face the French. They lost 25-24 in the other semi-final against defending champions and crowd favorites New Zealand.