Canada are headed to a World Cup Final. The Maple Leafs dominated defending champions New Zealand with a stunning display, coming away 34-19 winners at Ashton Gate on Friday. It was a complete performance from the Canadians, a combination of discipline, set piece accuracy, relentless attack, and suffocating defense en route to an historic result.
From the start the Black Ferns were on the back foot. Taylor Perry’s chip kick was plucked from the air by captain Alex Tessier, who immediately connected with Alysha Corrigan. Justine Pelletier was there in support to dummy her way past the last defender and put the Maple Leafs on the board. The conversion kick from Sophie de Goede made it a full seven.
Within two minutes the Canadians were knocking on the door again. A driving maul made inroads and then Tessier picked out Asia Hogan-Rochester with a miss-out pass, the winger fending off her opposite to finish in the corner. Penalties pinned New Zealand back in their end and after numerous phases from Canada’s forwards, Florence Symonds was left wide open and Tessier’s quick hands put the center over to make it 17 unanswered points.
In desperate need of a score, Stacey Waaka won the restart for New Zealand and the front row did the rest. Chryss Viliko offloaded to Georgia Ponsonby who sped in behind the defense. Moments later Tanya Kalounivale powered over from short range, with Renee Holmes tacking on the extras to finally get the Black Ferns on the board.
It was Canada, however, who controlled the final minutes before the break. The exhausting tempo had New Zealand’s defense on edge and Pelletier sniped through a gap. Just as the scrumhalf was wrapped up de Goede arrived on her shoulder, flying in at pace to take the offload in under the sticks. She converted her own to leave it 24-7 with 40 minutes played.
A hammer blow hit New Zealand early in the second half. Canada picked up where they had left off, tearing into the Black Ferns defense until Hogan-Rochester made a half-break down the left side. The ball was recycled quickly and Tessier went over for the fifth try with a show-and-go to make it a 31-7 game.
Now staring down a record defeat, the Black Ferns showed they would not go quietly with two tries in a span of eight minutes. Ruahei Demant’s kick put Canada under pressure and earned an attacking throw-in. One phase later Mikaele Tu’u tore around the corner and there was no stopping the flanker. Fresh legs then entered the game and Ayesha Leti-I’iga broke up field. Demant’s boot this time found Braxton Sorensen-McGee and the winger reached out to score in the corner.
The clock, however, was not on New Zealand’s side. Forced to run from their own end, they conceded a penalty while in possession. Canada initially turned down a shot at the posts in favor of the corner but when Laetitia Royer was held up, a second opportunity directly in front gave three points to de Goede and put the result beyond doubt. The Black Ferns kept coming well beyond the 80-minute mark until a turnover allowed the Maple Leafs to kick the ball dead.
Both teams will take the field at Twickenham next Saturday. Canada will play in their second World Cup Final, and first since 2014, against the winner of tomorrow’s Semi Final between England and France. The loser of that match will face the Black Ferns in the Bronze Final.
CANADA 34
Tries (5) – J. Pelletier (7′), A. Hogan-Rochester (10′), F. Symonds (24′), S. de Goede (35′), A. Tessier (43′)
Cons (3) – S. de Goede 3/5 (8′, 36′, 44′)
Pens (1) – S. de Goede 1/1 (74′)
NEW ZEALAND 19
Tries (3) – T. Kalounivale (26′), L. Mikaele-Tu’u (56′), B. Sorensen-McGee (64′)
Cons (2) – R. Holmes 1/1 (27′), B. Sorensen-McGee 1/2 (57′)
CANADA
1 McKinley Hunt (17 Brittany Kassil 61′), 2 Emily Tuttosi (16 Gillian Boag77′), 3 DaLeaka Menin, 4 Sophie de Goede, 5 Courtney O’Donnell (19 Tyson Beukeboom 51′), 6 Caroline Crossley (21 Gabrielle Senft 76′), 7 Karen Paquin (20 Laetitia Royer 61′-74′), 8 Fabiola Forteza (21 Gabrielle Senft 65′-76′), 9 Justine Pelletier (22 Olivia Apps 61′), 10 Taylor Perry (23 Shoshanah Seumanutafa78′), 11 Asia Hogan-Rochester, 12 Alex Tessier (capt.), 13 Florence Symonds, 14 Alysha Corrigan, 15 Julia Schell
Not used: 18 Olivia DeMerchant
NEW ZEALAND
1 Chryss Viliko (17 Kate Henwood 65′), 2 Georgia Ponsonby (16 Atlanta Lolohea 65′), 3 Tanya Kalounivale (18 Amy Rule 44′), 4 Maia Roos, 5 Alana Bremner (19 Chelsea Bremner 62′), 6 Liana Mikaele-Tu’u, 7 Kennedy Tukuafu (capt.) (20 Layla Sae 55′), 8 Kaipo Olsen-Baker, 9 Risi Pouri-Lane (21 Maia Joseph 62′), 10 Ruahei Demant, 11 Portia Woodman, 12 Sylvia Brunt (22 Theresa Setefano 74′), 13 Stacey Waaka, 14 Braxton Sorensen-McGee, 15 Renee Holmes (23 Ayesha Leti-I’iga 50′)
Date: Friday, September 19
Venue: Ashton Gate, Bristol
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 64°F (18°C), wind S 6-8mph (9-13km/h)
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Assistants: Aurélie Groizeleau (France) & Ella Goldsmith (Australia)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
