Canada Dominate Australia in World Cup Quarter-Final: Face New Zealand in Semi-Finals
It was Canada’s best performance to date at the World Cup as they scored three tries through the backs in the first 20 minutes and then the forwards took over and finished off the match with three tries, Sophie de Goede also added a try at the 18′ mark and four conversions.
Coach Rouet will be happy with the defence that only allowed one first half try out wide. Sophie de Goede was selected player of the match, she scored 13 points. Asia Hogan Rochester was the leading ball carrier with 90 metres, Daleaka Menin had 14 gain line carries, the top in the match. The team stats showed Canada had 754 metres carried compared to 289 for Australia, 49 defenders beaten compared to 17 for Australia, and 17 offloads compared to 1 for Australia.
It will be Canada vs NZ on Friday, September 19th at 11am PT.
Tries: Asia Hogan-Rochester (3’), Alysha Corrigan (14’, 21’), Sophie de Goede (18’), McKinley Hunt (38’), Fabiola Forteza (50’), Karen Paquin (77’)
Penalties: Alex Tessier (72’)
Conversions: Sophie de Goede (4)
from Canadian Press
Alysha Corrigan scored two tries in a dominant first half and Canada routed Australia 46-5 in Women’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal action Saturday in Bristol, England.
Asia Hogan-Rochester opened the scoring with a try in the second minute, capping a break from Julia Schell, and the second-ranked Canadians dominated No. 7 Australia on both sides of the ball from there.
Sophie de Goede and McKinley Hunt, with a powerful touchdown after a rolling maul, scored the other first-half tries.
De Goede also kicked four conversions to give her a tournament-leading 17 and was named player of the match with a game-high 13 points. Fabiola Forteza and Karen Paquin, with Canada continuing to press late in the game, scored second-half tries and captain Alex Tessier added a penalty kick.
Canada took a 31-5 lead into the half after dominating the first 40 minutes. The Canadians had the bulk of possession and, outside allowing a try to Desiree Miller in the seventh minute, shut down any rare Australian foray into their zone.
Australia, playing with pride, slowed down Canada’s attack in a rainy second half. But the Wallaroos didn’t stop it.
Forteza scored 19 minutes into the half from a stolen throw-in by de Goede. The Canadians didn’t score another try until near time but it was worth waiting for: 38-year-old high school coach Paquin crashed through the line from 40 meters out and glided to the line.
The margin of victory could have been wider, but Canada had two tries called back.
Canada advanced to the final four for the sixth time and will face No. 3 New Zealand, the six-time and defending champion, in the semifinals on Friday. The Black Ferns advanced with a 46-17 win over South Africa on Saturday.
“You can’t be overconfident but for sure we are confident,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said.
Canada beat the Black Ferns for the first time last year and they drew 27-27 in May.
“[This match] is going to be a lot of fun, just like it was the time before, and the time before that,” Canada wing Asia Hogan-Rochester said.
Corrigan and Hunt have four tries each at the tournament. Canada’s leader is Julia Schell, who scored all six of her tries in a 65-7 win over Fiji to open the tournament.
Schell had one of the two Canadian tries that was disallowed on Saturday.
Coach Kevin Rouet Makes Three Changes to Starting XV in Forward Rotation – Alysha Corrigan Returns on the Wing
Coach Kevin Rouet has made some changes to the squad that defeated Scotland in the final pool round. This is knock out competition now at the quarter-final stage with the winner likely to take on New Zealand in the semis. The front row remains unchanged, including the front row reserves. The second row sees Courtney O’Donnell get the start and Tyson Beukeboom move to the bench. In the loose forwards Caroline Crossley gets the start and Gabrielle Senft moves to the bench. The backline sees one change with Alysha Corrigan replacing Paige Farries. The bench remains a 6/2 split with Apps and Seumanutafa the reserve backline players.
The game will be shown on TSN3 at 8am PT on Saturday.
Canada Roster
1. McKinley Hunt (King City, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Saracens (35 caps)
2. Emily Tuttosi (Souris, MB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (38 caps)
3. DaLeaka Menin (Vulcan, AB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (66 caps)
4. Sophie de Goede (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (38 caps)
5. Courtney O’Donnell (Rimbey, AB) – Red Deer Titans Rugby (50 caps)
6. Caroline Crossley (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers (10 caps)
7. Karen Paquin (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Quebec (48 caps)
8. Fabiola Forteza (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (38 caps)
9. Justine Pelletier (Rivière-du-Loup, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (40 caps)
10. Taylor Perry (Oakville, ON) – Oakville Crusaders / Exeter Chiefs (20 caps)
11. Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON) – Toronto Nomads / Westshore RFC (5 caps)
12. Alexandra Tessier (Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC) – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC / Exeter Chiefs (61 caps)
13. Florence Symonds (Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia (13 caps)
14. Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) – CRFC / Saracens (23 caps)
15. Julia Schell (Uxbridge, ON) – Guelph Goats / Castaway Wanderers / Ealing Trailfinders (29 caps)
16. Gillian Boag (Calgary, AB) – Capilano RFC (36 caps)
17. Brittany Kassil (Guelph, ON) – Guelph Goats (50 caps)
18. Olivia DeMerchant (Mapledale, NB) – Halifax Tars RFC (63 caps)
19. Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, ON) – Cowichan Piggies / Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders (81 caps)
20. Laetitia Royer (Loretteville, QC) – St-Anne-de-Bellevue / Concordia University / Saracens (19 caps)
21. Gabrielle Senft (Regina, SK) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (37 caps)
22. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC (22 caps)
23. Shoshanah Seumanutafa (White Rock, BC) – Counties Manukau (22 caps)
from Rugby Canada
After an undefeated run in pool play to top Pool B at the Rugby World Cup, Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team has announced its roster for the quarter-finals. They will take on Australia this Saturday, September 13, at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, England.
Canada head into the Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Australia with a record of 7-0 all-time while outscoring the Wallaroos 255-55. Canada outscored their pool play opponents Fiji, Wales and Scotland by a total of 147-26.
“Our goal coming into the World Cup was to finish on top of our pool and we did that,” said Canada’s Head Coach Kevin Rouet. “Now we have to shift our mindset to do or die rugby. We know what we are capable of as a team on the pitch and you can see how the team has been building through the first three games. The preparation this week has been about continuing to refine our skills and the details in our game so we can put together a performance to be proud of.”
Rouet has made a few changes to the Canadian lineup that faced Scotland this past weekend in the final game of pool play.
Quebec’s Fabiola Forteza moves to the number 8 position, taking over for Gabrielle Senft, who will look to make an impact off the bench for Canada. Caroline Crossley will join Forteza and Karen Paquin in the back row to start the game.
Alysha Corrigan, who started on the wing in Canada’s first two Rugby World Cup games, returns to the back three, which also features Asia Hogan-Rochester and the tournament’s leading try-scorer, Julia Schell.
WHERE TO WATCH
Canada’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final match against Australia on September 13 will kick off at 8:00am PST / 11:00am EST (4:00pm local time in England) and will be available on TSN3. All of Canada’s games at the Rugby World Cup will be broadcast live, along with bonus coverage of select non-Canada matches throughout the tournament. The broadcast schedule is available here.