Canada Lose to England 51-12 – Face Wales on Sunday
It was no surprise that #1 England would dominate, they’re far ahead of the pack based on recent results. England defeated NZ 56-15 last weekend which would put Canada on par with #2 NZ in terms of comparison. France #4 may actually be the on form team for second as they defeated NZ 38-13 on the weekend.
Canada will get another chance to evaluate their strength when they face #11 Wales on Sunday.
from Rugby Canada
Canadas Senior Womens 15s faced England at Twickenham Stoop, November 14th in London, playing to a 51-12 decision against the No. 1-ranked Red Roses in their third of four Fall fixtures, presented by DHL Rugby.
Paige Farries and Sabrina Poulin registered tries for Canada in Sundays match, while Brianna Miller converted on Poulins try .
Laura Russell made history in the Sunday match, becoming just the fourth Canadian woman to earn 50 caps for Canada, joining sister Kelly Russellhead coach of Rugby Canadas Maple Leafs Academy programGillian Florence and Maria Gallo on the shortlist.
Canada came out to play in the opening half and showed great resolve after going down early following a try from England debutant Heather Cowell, with Farries taking advantage of a turnover on the left wing and touching down between the posts to allow teammate Brianna Miller to covert for the 7-5 lead. The lead marked the first time England had trailed any opposition in their run of Fall fixtures.
England responded with a try from Sarah Burn and successful conversion before adding a penalty goal for the 15-7 lead just over a half hour into the match.
The back-and-forth scoreline continued, as Canada answered back with a try from Poulin, who put forth a great individual effort, cutting through her England defenders to touch down and pull Canada within three points of levelling the scoreline.
Englands Cowell would add her second try of the match just prior to the half time whistle to give the Red Roses a 20-12 lead at the break.
The home side then showed why they had won 16 straight matches during the second half, with Player of the Match Sarah Bern finding a hole in Canadas defensive line, opening up play with her second try of the afternoonthe first of five second half tries from her side.
I thought today was a great way to see where we were at as a team, said Canadian head coach Sandro Fiorino. There were a lot of great learnings from that standpoint.
Canadas play remained inspired throughout the second half but were unable to add to their point total against the World No. 1. The English bench experience, with 330 collective international caps, made significant impact on play and aided in identifying the holes in the Canadian defense.
This test match gave us an opportunity to view where our strengths are as a team, added Fiorino. There are obviously areas we can identify moving forward to close the gap on the top teams over the next nine months, so that we can get the performance we are looking for at the upcoming 2022 World Cup.
Canadas Senior Womens 15s squad next head to Wales to conclude their Fall Tour on November 21, 2021. The match begins at 17:00 local time and will be available to view live in Canada on TSN.ca or through the TSN app, with an encore tape-delayed broadcast on TSN. For more information, please visit www.rugby.ca.
*Canada Name Team to Face #1 England on Sunday*
It’s going to be a big step up for Canada as they face #1 England but a good chance to evaluate their world ranking after the COVID dormancy.
Canada have come off a two game series win over USA while England have just completed a two game sweep over #2 New Zealand. The manner of the England win has raised a few eyebrows, they ran up a 99-27 series score. That’s unheard of against a proud rugby nation like New Zealand. It’s sent some shock waves through NZ rugby. That’s the measuring stick #3 Canada will be using.
One of Canada’s stars will be missing, Sophie de Goede has stayed with her university side, Queen’s University, to compete in the national university championship. She has been dominant at the tournament and Queen’s have made the final on Sunday.
Kickoff is at 6:30am PT, streamed live on tsn.ca according to Rugby Canada. TSN are showing a replay at 6:30pm PT on TSN2.
from Rugby Canada
Canadas Senior Womens 15s head coach Sandro Fiorino has announced his match day roster that will face No. 1 ranked England, November 14th at Twickenham Stoop in London, England. Sundays match marks the first of two UK contests on the womens Fall Tour, presented by DHL Rugby.
After arriving in London, the team went straight into preparation for their upcoming test, training at the Reading Rams facilities. Several familiar faces join Canadas roster for their UK leg, led by veteran Elissa Alarie and joined by teammates Alysha Corrigan, Pamphinette Buisa, Fabiola Forteza and Sara Svoboda for the remainder of Fall Tour.
Were excited to field another strong group of players this weekend, said Fiorino. We are welcoming back some very talented individuals and are excited to see them contribute on the pitch.
The side will be captained by New Brunswicks Olivia deMerchant, a stalwart for the Exeter Chiefs and one of several players familiar with the English Premiership and its fanbase, including fellow Exeter teammates DaLeaka Menin and Emily Tuttosi, as well as Alex Ellis of the Saracens RFU and Paige Farries of the Worcester Warriors.
The Fall Tour marks the first series of test matches Canada has played since November, 2019. A total of 35 athletes have been selected, creating vital opportunities for the team to put into action the systems and strategies developed through the isolation period of COVID-effected operations. Sundays test against No. 1 ranked England will be an important marker for the teams Rugby World Cup campaign launching October, 2022.
Ranked No. 1 in the world, The Red Roses enter Sundays Test Match fresh off a decisive 56-15 win over No. 2 ranked New Zealand on November 7th, their second win against New Zealand in as many weeks following a 43-12 win at Sandy Park in Exeter on October 31st.
This will be an excellent measuring test for our team, added Fiorino. We are coming off of two positive results against the United States and we are looking forward to Sundays match, which will be another great opportunity to continue building our squad.
Canadas Senior Womens 15s team kick off against England on November 14th at Twickenham Stoop in London. The match begins at 9:30am ET/6:30am PT and will be available to view live in Canada on TSN.ca or through the TSN app, with an encore tape-delayed broadcast on TSN2. For more information, please visit www.rugby.ca.
CANADAS WOMENS RUGBY TEAMS MATCH DAY ROSTER
1. Olivia DeMerchant – Mapledale, NB – Exeter Chiefs/ Halifax Tars RFC
2. Emily Tuttosi – Souris, MB – Exeter Chiefs
3. DaLeaka Menin – Vulcan, AB – Exeter Chiefs
4. Emma Taylor – Scotsburn, NS – Halifax Rugby Football Club
5. Courtney Holtkamp – Rimbey, AB – Red Deer Titans
6. Fabiola Forteza – Quebec, QC – Club de Rugby de Quebec/Stade Bordelais
7. Karen Paquin – La Ville de Quebec, QC – Club de Rugby de Quebec/Stade Bordelais
8. Gabrielle Senft – Regina, SK – Castaway Wanderers/University of Victoria Vikes
9. Brianna Miller – Pointe-Claire, QC – Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC
10. Emily Belchos de Goede – Innisfil, ON – Westshore RFC
11. Paige Farries – Red Deer, AB – Worcester Warriors/Westshore RFC
12. Alexandra Tessier – Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC
13. Sara Kaljuvee – Ajax, ON – Toronto Scottish/ University of Victoria Vikes
14. Sabrina Poulin – St-Georges, QC Town of Mount Royal Rugby/Stade Rennais
15. Elissa Alarie – Trois-Rivieres, QC – Westshore RFC/ Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC/Braves de Trois-Riviéres
RESERVES
16. Laura Russell – Bolton, ON – Toronto Nomads/Cowichan RFC
17. Brittany Kassil – Guelph, ON – Guelph Redcoats
18. Alex Ellis – Ottawa, ON – Barrhaven Scottish/Saracens
19. Tyson Beukeboom – Uxbridge, ON – Cowichan RFC
20. Pamphinette Buisa – Gatineau, QC Canada Womens 7s/Ottawa Irish
21. Laetitia Royer – Loretteville, QC – Lons Section Paloise/ St-Anne-de-bellevue
22. Justine Pelletier – Riviere-du-Loup, QC – Les Lionnes du stade bordelais/ Club de Rugby de Quebec
23. Renee Gonzalez – Toronto, ON – Westshore RFC/University of Victoria Vikes