Summary of RWC Post Match Interview with Kevin Rouet and Alex Tessier
The World Cup is over, Canadian rugby had its brief moment in the sun but now what? How to build on that momentum? That’s the question, there is no simple answer presented in this article but we’ll start with the post-match interview with coach Kevin Rouet and Alex Tessier. Below you will find the video, the summary of the interview, the transcript and a google trend graph that shows the spike that “women’s rugby” enjoyed over the past week.
Perhaps the most encouraging comment out of the interview was from coach Kevin Rouet, “I’m excited to come back to Canada and and talk to people and see how we could just help the rugby growing in Canada men’s and women’s overall I think we’re on the same boat.” The question I have is who will he talk to, that will determine the answers he gets. Will he talk to John Tait the Technical Director of the BCRU, and his provincial counterparts, to look at pathways and domestic competitions, for both men and women. There’s a void in the Director of Rugby role at the national level, will Rouet fill that? Will he talk to Karl Fix who represents business expertise and connections to the “money” people in Canadian rugby. How about Jeff Chan, the CEO of the Canadian Rugby Foundation, the largest rugby funding group in Canada?
From Alex Tessier, an insightful comment, “we’ll then put our head down, move again, a lot of us are playing in England in the PWR, in France, in New Zealand wherever we are we’re going to make sure that we put ourselves again in the best position as possible to be a better rugby player” Yes, the Canadian women are fortunate to have the professional (semi-professional) leagues to play in but one country wasn’t mentioned on that list, Canada. What can be done with domestic competitions to make it an option for players to say, “we put ourselves again in the best position as possible to be a better rugby player”?
Again these aren’t answers, they’re questions, perhaps we’ll look at possible solutions in future articles. Feel free to leave insightful comments below.
Executive Summary
This document synthesizes the key themes from the post-match press conference with Canada Women’s Rugby Head Coach Kevin Rouet and Captain Alex Tessier following their World Cup final loss to England. Despite the disappointing result and a self-assessed under performance in the final match, both the coach and captain expressed immense pride in the team’s overall tournament accomplishments and their journey over the preceding three years.
The central takeaways are the team’s profound impact on the growth of rugby in Canada, having inspired a new generation and significantly increased the sport’s visibility. The discussion also highlighted the broader growth of women’s rugby, evidenced by record-breaking attendance figures. A critical theme was the stark contrast between their team’s financial model, which relies on player sacrifice and fundraising, and the professional setup of teams like England. While acknowledging the financial disparity, Captain Tessier was adamant that it was not the cause of the loss. The briefing concludes with an analysis of the team’s exceptional internal cohesion, their future plans to regroup, and a spotlight on the individual brilliance of players like Sophie de Goede, which is enabled by the team’s strong collective identity.
Post-Match Analysis and Team Reaction
Following the loss to England in the Rugby World Cup final, both the Head Coach and Captain expressed a mixture of frustration with their performance and immense pride in their overall achievement.
- Underperformance in the Final: Head Coach Kevin Rouet stated the team did not play their “base game,” leading to frustration. He noted missed opportunities, such as “3v1, 2v1,” as simple actions that are costly against a team like England.
- Pride in the Journey: Despite the final result, Rouet emphasized his pride in the team’s three-year journey and the sacrifices made. His message to the players was to “be proud of what you did but just be angry again,” channeling the frustration into motivation for the next four years.
- Captain’s Disappointment: Captain Alex Tessier shared the sentiment of underperformance, stating, “today was wasn’t a big reflection on us.” She also expressed disappointment for the families and fans who traveled to support them, wishing the team could have “thanked them with tonight’s victory.”
The Impact on Rugby in Canada and Women’s Sport
A dominant theme of the press conference was the significant and positive impact the team’s World Cup run has had on the sport’s profile in Canada and for women’s sport globally.
Domestic Growth and Inspiration
- Increased Visibility: Tessier noted the presence of the Prime Minister and the increased television broadcasting of their matches as major steps forward. She stated, “now that the broadcast is becoming more and more on our TVs back in Canada is it goes a long way.”
- Inspiring a New Generation: The team received a significant volume of messages, including from schools and young girls, confirming their role as inspirations. Tessier remarked, “what we’ve accomplished this World Cup is very powerful, especially for rugby in Canada.”
- A Call for Sustained Support: Rouet expressed hope that the support would not be fleeting, stating a common challenge: “whatever the performance we do if you don’t win like other country will forget you and you have to come back in four years so it’s always the same i’m happy for Canada and I hope you guys won’t forget them.”
Global Growth of Women’s Rugby
- Record-Breaking Attendance: Tessier highlighted the “special” nature of the World Cup, specifically mentioning the record attendance of 81,000 for the final. She described playing in front of a “sold-out” stadium as “huge” and “incredible.”
- Growing Exposure: She noted that the tournament demonstrated that women’s sport and women’s rugby are “finally get[ting] that…exposure that we’re looking for.” This increased interest inspires not only girls but also “boys and…teenager like even grown up” to get involved with the sport.
The Challenge of Professionalism and Funding
The press conference directly addressed the financial realities and structural differences between the Canadian team and professionally backed teams like England.
- Player Sacrifice: Coach Rouet detailed the significant personal sacrifices players make. He pointed out that many are highly educated with university degrees and could make their lives “easier and better” if they stopped playing rugby.
- The State of “Professional” Leagues: Rouet challenged the notion of existing women’s leagues being fully professional. He noted that players in England and France might get paid “like 400 pounds a month,” forcing them to make a difficult choice: “do I have like a life or do I play rugby and it’s hard for them at the moment.”
- Budget vs. Performance: While acknowledging the financial disparity (“England definitely have more money than us”), Captain Tessier was clear that it was not the deciding factor in the final match.
- Sustainability Concerns: Tessier did concede that the current model “is definitely not sustainable in Canada for sure,” but affirmed that the team is “slowly but surely getting there in terms of of funding.”
Team Cohesion and Future Outlook
The exceptional bond within the team was presented as a core strength and the foundation for their future ambitions.
- Internal Dynamics: Tessier spoke passionately about the team’s culture.
- Immediate Plans: The team’s cohesiveness extends off the pitch, with many players planning to go on vacation together to “celebrate what we’ve accomplished this tournament.”
- Long-Term Vision: The loss in the final will serve as motivation for the next four-year cycle, mirroring their response to losing the bronze final in the previous World Cup. Tessier explained, “it’s going to be similar for the next four years we’re definitely not happy about the results tonight.” Players will return to their clubs in England, France, and New Zealand with the goal of becoming better players and people in preparation for the next World Cup.
Individual Spotlight: Sophie de Goede
The press conference concluded with a question about Sophie de Goede being named Player of the Year, which provided insight into how the team views individual success within its collective framework.
- Exceptional Talent: Tessier praised de Goede as an “amazing player” who can “kick she can find gaps she can create stuff out of nothing.” She highlighted her instinctual style of play as “inspiring for a lot of us.”
- The Power of the Collective: Tessier crucially framed de Goede’s success as a product of the team’s overall strength.
Raw Transcript
Thank you everybody thank you for your patience and welcome to the press conference at the final today um we have with us with Canada head coach Kevin Rouet and Captain Alex Tessier as always if you can please raise your hand if you have a question one of our lovely volunteers will hand out the mic and if you can start by introducing yourself and where you’re reporting from that would be great who would like to get us started please thank you at the front
hi Kevin my commiseration for the for the result of the match despite the result what message you think this team brings to the world today
it’s a little bit frustrating for us because we know it we know we didn’t play our base game um but I I told them at the end I’m very proud of what they did uh the sacrifice they made for three years to just go there it was just missing 80 minutes of good rugby for us to just be world champion so they already know they have four years to just come back so that’s that’s going to be the message be proud of what you did but just be angry again
and how much you think this push up again in terms of uh in terms of just keeping up to the next level for the next competition next games
yeah we know and I know them i know they need to be tough on on themselves you know when you miss 3v1 2v1 you don’t finish simple action against England like it’s it’s tough and I think that’s what I say i just try to be careful of not talking too much about this game because England was better and we were not at our best today but I don’t want them to forget what we build together so that’s why I just be careful of what I say
okay alex Paul Waldi from the Globe and Mail obviously it’s it’s tough to talk about this today but I wonder if what this tournament means for you know people in Canada and rugby in Canada i mean just the success you guys have had uh thus far
um the prime minister was there so I hope like he show a good message uh I’m excited to come back to Canada and and talk to people and see how we could just help the rugby growing in Canada men’s and women’s overall i think we’re on the same boat um I’m excited we receive so much message even too much message but that that’s great to see the excitement and we have to care about ourselves because it’s always the same like whatever the performance we do if you don’t win like other country will forget you and you have to come back in four years so it’s always the same i’m happy for Canada and I hope you guys won’t forget them
for girls in Canada um
I think what we’ve accomplished this World Cup is very powerful uh especially for rugby in Canada i think uh yes despite the the our under performance today i think uh what we’ve done this World Cup is is huge i think um especially like every every match I think uh we were dominant we were performing uh we were being true to ourselves we we got to to play as free and then impose a rhythm as just today today was wasn’t wasn’t a big reflection on us but I think just winning that semi-final last weekend uh obviously went a long way uh has proven so many um people and then I think inspired a lot of people we’ve got so many messages from schools from young girls that and then now that like the broadcast is is becoming more and more on our TVs back in Canada is it goes a long way and I’m just so pleased that uh people get to watch us and by doing what we want on the field and and I know it inspired so many generation and so I’m very pleased for that
thank you at the front there if I can just along those lines you’re talking about all the people that you’ve inspired at home how have you found this World Cup as a whole i know 81,000 here today which was a a record attendance for a women’s game can you just reflect for us a bit about how special it’s been to to see the game grow
it it’s been it’s been incredible i think it’s it’s been a a very special world cup for uh not only us um but all I think all the teams I think uh every every weekend every match there is a people and more people every weekend so it’s good uh we get we finally get that women’s sport and women’s rugby get the the exposure that we’re looking for uh and it’s good to see it’s good to see that um yeah we’re we’re becoming more and more interested and it goes a long way and it inspires not only girls but boys and and younger like teenager like even grown up like it to just uh get interested in rugby whether it’s playing watching it getting involved in some so many ways and having like playing in front of a a sold out twickenham is is huge um and I’m super thankful that um our team got to live that uh it’s probably the first time for many of us that we get to play in front of so many people um it was incredible so I’m super thankful for that
thank you on the left uh hi question for you both just a question on the sort of the future development of the women’s game do do you think that that Canada have sort of shown that you can come to a World Cup on a crowdfunded campaign and and almost go the whole hog or has this whole has this World Cup shown that unless a country has the sort of professionalism and backing of of England then you can’t you can’t go the whole way i mean does everyone have to follow that now
i don’t think it’s positive at the end uh the fact that those girls stay for 3 years it’s because we have a positive team and everybody’s excited to play with each other but if you ask them um it’s not even about the crowning is like them living in England in France and we sell professional league but that’s not a professional league when you get paid like 400 pounds a month so it’s it’s like they know they have to do sacrifice all those girls are I educate they all come from the university system so if anytime they decide to stop rugby they are going to make their life easier and better so it’s a lot of sacrifice in their own life to just just play rugby and go to the world cup so it’s not even a crowdfunding because of federation do their best it’s just the women’s games in general even club even PWR it’s not professional yet it’s starting to be but like players are not well paid at the moment so it goes the right direction but we still need to just keep growing the women’s game to help them to just know not deciding do I have like a life or do I play rugby and it’s hard for them at the moment
thank you at the front thank you very much Chloe for the rugby voice here um how does it feel to have a dedicated fan base that you know to travel across to to watch you play
um it was heartwarming for sure uh having her families and friends um was very very special for many of us and yeah it does go a long way and today I’m super proud of the of the girls but at the same times I’m disappointed because you know our families are there but I know we know they’re proud of us anyways regardless of the results tonight but uh I just wish we could have thanked them uh with tonight’s um tonight’s victory but um yeah it’s been very special to have our family and friends uh so involved with us
and um think thinking about thinking ahead towards so you know future competitions and things how will you regroup and you know get um yeah how will you regroup from this and um get vacation I don’t know how to put this sorry
yeah we’re on vacation I guess yeah we’re not we’re honestly a very good group we genuinely uh enjoy each other’s company so much and so a few of us are going to go on vacation Um I think the f that first step is just to enjoy ourel especially tonight next week uh what’s what’s what’s the beauty about our team is that we’re actually not all going back home we’re all on little vacation here and there uh together to to celebrate what we’ve accomplished this tournament to celebrate what we’ve accomplished the last three years cuz um from the get-go after that loss uh in the in the bronze final against France last World Cup where we were not happy about where we were and I think it’s going to be similar for the next um four years uh we’re definitely not happy about the results tonight we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished but um we’re definitely going to take some time off celebrate what we’ve achieved this tournament because it’s it’s incredible what the girls have done and um yeah we we’ll then put our head down move again a lot of us are playing in in England in the PWR in France in New Zealand wherever we are we’re going to make sure that we put ourselves again in the best position as possible uh to be a better rugby player to be a better human and um we’ll get in four years time
thank you hi Mark Collie Toronto Star um Alex it looked like you were about to say something about sort of the crowdfunding and it’s a lot a lot has been made about that in this tournament uh what message does Canada’s run here send to people back home
yeah I don’t think we had the best budget if you compare to other nations for sure but um that’s not what made the difference tonight i think we managed to Yes fund uh what we wanted to fund in order to be as prepared as possible i thought I think we were prepared for for today for this World Cup um and I think we could have won it with whatever budget we had so that’s the only comment I wanted to make is that uh yeah England definitely have more money than us um it’s definitely not sustainable in Canada for sure so we’re we’re still slowly but surely getting there in terms of of funding but uh tonight they were just better on the field um but we know that we could have came here tonight and and get the victory but it just didn’t go quite our way today
and you’ve talked a bit about this group of players and how special they are over the past five six weeks how has this group gotten closer how’s that dynamic changed through this tournament
i love our team i love our team so much um there’s so many personalities on that team uh everybody’s unique in their own way and this group is super welcoming welcome any people from any walks of life and the girls just enjoy each other’s company whether it’s playing cards whether it’s making Tik Tok matters whether like is doing all sorts of silly things around the hotel we always come back together after a win after a loss um I just really the vibe has been great and I’m so so proud of how we’ve uh conducted ourselves on and off the pitch um yeah I I want to take the girls and I’m more than happy and I’m more than proud of the way we Yeah behaved and played and took care of each other
any further questions yes at the front with Millie
thank you a question to both of you um Sophie de Goede’s been named player of the year having only come back from injury um midway through the the the year and how important is it for Canada to have a player like that when we see in women’s sport how important personalities and people are to to driving the game forward how important is it that you’ve got someone like Sophie
it’s great it’s amazing she’s an amazing player i think she’s demonstrated that uh she can do it all she can kick she can find gaps she can create stuff out of nothing uh she she expresses herself it’s it’s very nice to see her on the field on attack especially uh when she just does what she wants she follow her instincts so much and uh it’s inspiring for a lot of us so a lot of the girls kind of not counted they do look up to her and so I’m very pleased for her after this whole year of like hardship um but yeah I think the strength of our team as well is we have more than one Sophie de Goede we have many incredible talented rugby rugby players on that team we’re very intentional and very smart in what we do and uh that essentially at the end of the day our collective is is what a straight is and uh because we have such a good collective uh players like Sophie the Goede can do what they do best and is being themselves and just showcasing every weekend so yeah pretty it’s huge for us to have players like this but we do have many players like her
thank you if no further questions we will end there and England will be up next thank you thank you thanks so much
[note the summary and transcript created with assistance of NotebookLM]
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