Canada Destroys New Zealand and Goes to the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final

BRISTOL, England – Canada handed New Zealand a historic defeat with a score of 34-19 on Friday, securing their place in next week’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final. After reaching only one final in their history, Canada’s victory was especially significant, 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 biggest defeat for the Black Ferns, which was seven points against the United States in 1991. Furthermore, this was their first World Cup defeat in 18 matches. Canada imposed a frantic pace from the start, which New Zealand could not respond to. They opened the scoring at seven minutes, after a kick that caught the Black Ferns’ defense off guard. Shortly after, Justine Pelletier scored on the left side of the posts, surpassing Portia Woodman-Wickliffe on her way. Three minutes later, they scored their second try. This time, they passed the ball to the right, where they found a large gap in the New Zealand defense. Asia Hogan-Rochester managed to cross the try line, leaving the world champions in trouble. Unusual errors and a disorganized defense facilitated Canada’s advance at several moments.

For their third try, Canada opted for a direct play, building phases and tiring out New Zealand before heading to the right, where Florence Symonds scored. Finally, at 25 minutes, New Zealand managed to get into the game, making one of their first incursions into Canadian territory. A great advance by Georgia Ponsonby put her team in an advantageous position, followed by a try by Tanya Kalounivale from close range.

The Black Ferns steadied, but couldn’t maintain momentum. Pelletier made a spectacular pass to Sophie de Goede, who found space and advanced from 20 meters. De Goede scored under the posts and Canada went up 24-7 at halftime, leaving New Zealand 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, securing their place in the final. Liana Mikaele-Tu’u scored a try for New Zealand after some good phase play. New Zealand finally took some control of the game, but couldn’t find a way to advance until a wonderful cross-kick from Ruahei Demant found Braxton Sorensen-McGee on the right wing, who scored in the corner, bringing the score to 31-19. An attempt at a comeback seemed possible, but time was not on their side and Canada proved to be too strong. De Goede’s penalty took Canada to 34 points, the most New Zealand has conceded in a World Cup match. After the final whistle, players from both teams collapsed to their knees for different reasons. The Canadian stars showed their emotion for the 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 week.