Wales on the brink of elimination in the Women’s Rugby World Cup
The Wales selection is on the verge of elimination in the group stage of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, after suffering a resounding 42-0 defeat against Canada, one of the favorite teams, at the Salford Community Stadium.
After losing 38-8 against Scotland in the opening match of the competition, Wales needed to beat Canada, ranked second in the world, to keep their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals alive.
Although they dominated the territory and possession in the first stages of the match, Canada went ahead 28-0 shortly after the half-hour mark, thanks to the two tries by McKinley Hunt and those by Alysha Corrigan and Asia Hogan-Rochester.
After the break, Taylor Perry and Brittany Kassil scored, while Georgia Evans was shown a yellow card. Sophie de Goede converted all six tries, solidifying Canada’s title aspirations.Wales, who were without co-captains Alex Callender and Kate Williams due to injuries, conceded a try after 55 seconds against Scotland, but reacted strongly to put pressure on Canada.
Lisa Neumann almost caught a ball overhead, while Bethan Lewis hesitated on a cross-pass, missing the opportunity to score.
With Wales’ lineout failing, Canada took advantage to build pressure in the opposing field, which culminated in Hunt’s try under the posts.
Hunt’s try, after being assisted by Alex Tessier and De Goede, was a hard blow for Wales. Corrigan and Hunt extended the Canadian lead in the following minutes.
Since the restart, Hogan-Rochester scored a try after a 60-meter run, securing the bonus point for Canada.
Despite a Gabrielle Senft try being disallowed, Wales were reduced to 14 players after a yellow card to Evans.
Canada took advantage of the numerical superiority for Perry and Kassil to score more points.
Although DeMerchant, from Canada, was cautioned, the team managed to maintain the lead in the final stages.
