Canada were rocked by an early try but rallied with four tries of their own to beat the United States 32-11 and advance to a semifinal against England at the Rugby World Cup.
In a match styled “the battle of the border”, Joanna Kitlinski dived over in the ninth minute for a try that capped an early period of United States dominance.
Canada were shaken but gradually gained a foothold and scored two tries to lead 12-8 by halftime. In wet and slushy conditions at Waitākere Stadium, field position was critical and both teams at times accentuated their kicking games.
The United States were strong on attack and the close inter-passing among their forwards was outstanding. They seemed to have scored again through Hope Rodgers, who dived over the Canada line in the 28th minute, but the try was scratched on a TMO intervention.
Canada have had a strong set piece throughout the tournament and relied on it again today, but had trouble turning that advantage into points. The United States also defended well, forcing Canada to work hard for points.
In the second half, Paige Farries scored quickly to extend Canada’s lead and, after an exchange of penalties, first five-eighth Alex Tessier crossed for a try that pushed Canada clear at 29-11.
Canada captain Sophie de Goede, who landed a late penalty to broaden the scoreline, said reaching the semifinals was the culmination of years of sacrifice.
“It’s just such a proud feeling,” she told Spark Sport. “We’ve spoken within our team about what every person has gone through to get to this point, so to understand everyone’s story to get to this game and then to come out here and perform the way that each woman out there did, I’m just so proud of our group.
“We’re not contracted yet so people have had to make a lot of sacrifices to get to this point – moving away from family, playing overseas, working full-time jobs, training at 5am and 5-9pm after work. Those stories just make it that much more meaningful.”
Pride was also the central emotion for United States skipper Kate Zackary, departing after defeat but with their heads held high.
“It’s a really emotional time, it’s been a really hard tournament for a lot of girls,” she said. “We talked about, win or lose, we were going to walk off this pitch proud, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
- AP
