Canada Crushes New Zealand and Advances to Women’s Rugby World Cup Final

BRISTOL, England – Canada humiliated New Zealand with a historic 34-19 defeat on Friday, securing their place in next week’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final. After having reached a single final in their history, Canada’s victory was sweet for many reasons, as they eliminated the world champions from the tournament with a combined record of five tries at Ashton Gate. The 15-point margin surpassed the previous record Black Ferns defeat of seven points, which occurred against the United States in 1991. It was their first World Cup defeat in 18 matches. Canada set a fast pace from the initial whistle, which New Zealand couldn’t handle, opening the scoring at seven minutes when a kick over the Black Ferns’ defense caught them off guard. A phase later, Justine Pelletier scored to the left of the posts, outpacing Portia Woodman-Wickliffe on her way. Three minutes later, they scored their second try. This time, they passed the ball by hand to the right, where a huge gap in the New Zealand defense was waiting to be exploited. Asia Hogan-Rochester crossed the try line in the corner and the world champions were on the ropes. Uncharacteristic errors and a disjointed defense made things easier for Canada at times.

For their third try, Canada went the direct route, building phases and tiring out New Zealand before going right for Florence Symonds to score. Finally, after 25 minutes, New Zealand got into the game with one of their first forays into Canadian territory. A great play by Georgia Ponsonby put her team in the lead before the destructive Tanya Kalounivale crossed the try line from close range. The Black Ferns stabilized, but failed to advance. While her team built phases, Pelletier delivered a spectacular offload to Sophie de Goede, who found space and broke through from 20 meters. She wouldn’t be stopped, scoring under the posts. De Goede added the extra points and Canada went up 24-7 at halftime. New Zealand was in a state of shock.

Canada’s momentum didn’t stop at halftime. Captain Alex Tessier scored after her team advanced down the field following the restart and, if they hadn’t already, put one foot in the final. Liana Mikaele-Tu’u delivered a rare blow for New Zealand after they finally got some good speed at the ruck. New Zealand finally took some control of the game, but couldn’t find a way to get ahead until a wonderful cross-kick from Ruahei Demant found Braxton Sorensen-McGee on the right wing. The revelation star of the tournament scored in the corner to bring the score to 31-19. A glimmer of a comeback was glimpsed, but it would be a huge task. There was simply not enough time and Canada was too strong. De Goede’s penalty led Canada to 34 points, the most New Zealand has conceded in a World Cup match. Players from both teams collapsed to their knees after the final whistle for different reasons. Canada’s stars were visibly thrilled with their resounding victory, while the Black Ferns looked exhausted. The winner of the semi-final clash between England and France in Bristol will face Canada in the final at Allianz Stadium Twickenham next weekend.