Belgium 41-14 Canada: Canada Crash in Second Half
Canada were leading at the half 7-6 but came off the rails in the second half as they left their focus in the change room at halftime. Two yellow cards and a slew of mental errors made it difficult to get any momentum in the second half. It started with a casual wave at a pass from a defender that led to a yellow card, then defenders forgot to focus on the ruck and the Belgium player said, thanks very much, picked the ball up untouched and jaunted in for a try. Next was a penalty awarded to Canada at the Belgium 22, the kicker put the ball directly into goal and a key possession was lost. It was mental error after mental error leading to penalties for Belgium, tries and another yellow card for Canada. Then panic mode hit as the scoreline increased and time ticked away, more errors, running the ball out from the 22 instead of clearing it, a double skip pass that’s intercepted and run back the length of the field for a try. It wasn’t that Belgium was a much better team, Canada self-inflicted much of the pain on itself in the second half. It will be interesting to see how they come out against Portugal in their next match, the championship is gone, but they can battle for a 3rd place finish. Canada face Portugal on Monday, October 12th.
