England survive Canada scare to claim WXV title

Canada gave England their closest contest of the year but ultimately fell short by 21-12 in Vancouver on Saturday. The Red Roses were trailing well into the second half but two late scores saw them pull away to secure their second consecutive WXV title and extend their winning streak to 20 games.

From the kickoff it was clear the Maple Leafs had their sights on an upset. They turned down a chance at points in favor of the corner. After failing to take advantage of an overlap, the pressure finally yielded a score as Justine Pelletier sold a dummy at the edge of a ruck to make it 5-nil to the home side.

A turnover from Canada on their side of halfway gave England an opportunity to reply. The defense initially held but then a thunderous carry from Alex Matthews off the back of a scrum set alarm bells ringing. On came the English forwards until Maud Muir punched over from short rage, the conversion from Helena Rowland putting the Red Roses ahead by two.

The Canadians were intent on disrupting the breakdown and Pelletier won the ball cleanly to spark a furious attacking sequence just before halftime. An overlap was again on offer but Paige Farries couldn’t get the ball away and cut back inside. When the winger tried to make up for it with a hard run at the line the English defense was up to the task, holding the ball up and the score would remain 7-5 to the visitors at the intermission.

Early in the second half Claire Gallagher spotted space in behind the English defensive line, and Pamphinette Buisa was there to regather. She was snagged by the cover but Ellie Kildunne played the ball from an offside position and the fullback was immediately sent to the bin.

After a few minutes of frustration the Maple Leafs finally found a gap. Buisa found an open Asia Hogan-Rochester, the left wing breaking free to halfway. The ball was quickly recycled and thrown wide right where Julia Schell combined with Fabiola Forteza to make further progress. On the next phase Alex Tessier found a seam up the middle and went clean through to score, the Canadian captain converting her own try to make it 12-7.

Buisa again sparked an attack with a line break which resulted in a yellow card to Bo Westcombe-Evans for a deliberate knock-on. This time Canada couldn’t take advantage as their sputtering lineout – which was woeful throughout the contest – repeatedly coughed up possession to their opponents. Instead it was England who would take advantage, with replacement prop Sarah Bern crashing over from in close to give the visitors a 14-12 lead with 10 minutes to play.

Each side threatened in the final minutes with a huge run from Kildunne putting Canada on the retreat. After a turnover a 50-22 from Schell had the Maple Leafs in scoring position. Again the lineout was faulty and the English pack bullied their way upfield until Zoe Aldcroft went over on the stroke of full-time.

Despite the defeat Canada will hold their No2 spot on the World Rankings into the new year. The Red Roses are at the top and retain their favorites tag for next year’s World Cup that will be hosted in England. Their pool opponents will be revealed this coming Thursday, October 17, with the two teams poised to challenge for the title of world champions when the flagship tournament begins in late August.

 

SCORING

CANADA 12
Tries (2) – J. Pelletier (4′), A. Tessier (51′)
Cons (1) – A. Tessier 1/2 (52′)

ENGLAND 21
Tries (3) – M. Muir (9′), S. Bern (67′), Z. Aldcroft (80′)
Cons (3) – H. Rowland 3/3 (10′, 68′, 80’+1′)
YC (2) – E. Kildunne (44′), B. Westcombe-Evans (58′)

TEAMS

CANADA
1 McKinley Hunt (17 Brittany Kassil 58′), 2 Emily Tuttosi (16 Sara Cline 76′), 3 DaLeaka Menin (18 Alex Ellis 68′), 4 Courtney Holtkamp, 5 Laetitia Royer (19 Tyson Beukeboom 60′), 6 Pamphinette Buisa (20 Julia Omokhuale 60′), 7 Fabiola Forteza, 8 Gabrielle Senft, 9 Justine Pelletier (21 Olivia Apps 77′), 10 Claire Gallagher, 11 Paige Farries (22 Alysha Corrigan HT), 12 Alex Tessier (capt.), 13 Shoshanah Seumanutafa, 14 Asia Hogan-Rochester (23 Fancy Bermudez 68′), 15 Julia Schell

ENGLAND
1 Hannah Botterman (17 Mackenzie Carson 52′), 2 Amy Cokayne (16 Lark Atkin-Davies 52′), 3 Maud Muir (18 Sarah Bern 52′), 4 Zoe Aldcroft, 5 Rosie Galligan (19 Abbie Ward 68′), 6 Maddie Feaunati, 7 Marlie Packer (capt.) (20 Morwenna Talling 58′), 8 Alex Matthews, 9 Natasha Hunt (21 Lucy Packer 58′), 10 Holly Aitchison, 11 Jess Breach, 12 Tatyana Heard (22 Zoe Harrison 75′), 13 Helena Rowland, 14 Bo Westcombe-Evans (23 Emily Scarratt 68′), 15 Ellie Kildunne

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, October 12
Venue: BC Place, Vancouver
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 57°F (14°C), wind S 1-2mph (2-3km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Assistants: Aurélie Groizeleau (France) & Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)

HIGHLIGHTS