Canada emerge victorious after one of the best World Cup performances of all time
New Zealand 19 - 34 Canada
This was widely predicted to be the game of the tournament. In many ways it lived up to the hype. Canada certainly rose to the occasion and led throughout the game. The onslaught began in the 7th minute when Pelletier scored a try that was quickly followed by another from Hogan-Rochester, who used her deadly hand-off to add to the score in the 10th minute. Florence Symonds added a 3rd try in the 23rd minute and Canada looked to be in cruise control. However, that control would quickly be lost when New Zealand immediately took advantage from the ensuing kickoff to quickly score a try in response just 2 minutes later. New Zealand then continued to look dangerous but Canada were able to weather the storm before Sophie de Goede added another try to give her side a 24-7 lead at the halfway point.
The Black Ferns needed to respond quickly at the start of the second half but, not only did they fail to do that, they conceded just 2 minutes into the half. The game was practically gone at that point and Canada were able to keep the Black Ferns at arm's length. The crucial statistic from this game is that Canada conceded 6 penalties in the game, but 4 came on the final play when the game was already over. The North Americans gave away nothing to New Zealand and relied on their immaculate defence. As the game went on, it became clear that the presence of Jorja Miller was badly missed as New Zealand failed to make the most of their limited opportunities. They did score twice in the second half but were realistically never actually in the match.
This Canadian performance was arguably the best by any team since the beginning of this World Cup cycle. Their captain, Alex Tessier, led the side brilliantly with her tactical kicking that halted any momentum that the Black Ferns were trying to build. Her repertoire of distance kicks, dinks over the top and coffin-corner kicks made a huge difference in the first half in particular. The other massive standout was Sophie de Goede. The all-action second row kicked well, dominated the gain-line and was a menace at the breakdown. It now looks like the World Cup final could decide who wins World Player of the year between de Goede and England's Ellie Kildunne.
Canada will now go into the World Cup final full of confidence, having hopefully shaken off the ridiculous "dark horses" tag that has been placed upon them by some of the rugby media that clearly don't pay enough attention to the women's game year-round. The Canadian men's team, by comparison, considered merely qualifying for the 2027 World Cup to be a big success. This means that people are surprised by Canada's success in the women's game, despite their World ranking and Olympic silver medal in Paris. Hopefully now this team have grabbed the attention of the world, and their own union, so that they won't have to crowd-fund to go to Australia in 2029. They've already received messages of support by the likes Shania Twain and Mark Carney which shows the growth of interest they have achieved in the past few weeks. Now imagine what could happen if they win next Saturday....
England find their footing in the Second half to beat France
France 17 - 35 England
The second semi-final had a very different vibe to the first. This was a tense affair with the two sides struggling to bring their usual quality to the game throughout the first half. The referee was the first to lose patience, and understandably so, as the gave both front rows a talking to after repeated scrum resets in the first 10 minutes. Things didn't get much cleaner from there. England continued to be wasteful in the opposition 22. An incredible try from Ellie Kildunne in the first few minutes was the only ray of light in a challenging half. France dominated possession in the first half and forced England to make over 100 tackles which was roughly 80 more than their tally. England fought hard to stay in the game, and did so through the jackaling of Botterman and Jones. The score was 77-5 to England at half time but it was the French who would have been more buoyant heading into the tunnel.
The second half was a different story. There was speculation from the BBC pundits at half time that John Mitchell could look to make some immediate changes, but the Kiwi kept his faith in his starting XV. That faith was rewarded as the level of performance sky-rocketed. Even Tatiana Heard, who had a terrible start to the game, came into her own and brought the straight, hard-running style that England needed to put France on the back foot. The Red Roses were also able to use their maul much more effectively as they made their dominance in the pack count at the line-out and the scrum. And, when France looked to be coming back into the game, Ellie Kildunne was there again to take advantage of a French mistake by stepping four defenders to score her 2nd try of the day. She was named player-of-the-match for a performance that was flawless aside from one (allegedly) forward pass that meant Abby Dow had a try ruled out in the first couple of minutes after the break. The win was sealed when Meg Jones scored a thoroughly-deserved try in the 78th minute from a Holly Aitchison through-ball. Zoe Harrison also deserves a mention after converting 100% of her kicks in a high-pressure environment. When the game was tight, those kicks looked like they could have been the difference.
France will now have to settle for yet another semi-final which will be a bitter pill to swallow, given where the game was in the first half. They were ultimately hamstrung by suspensions and injuries that caused a lack of depth. This proved to be a serious issue against an English side that are renowned for their excellence in the closing stages of matches. They'll now have to try and match their usual World Cup result by beating the Black Ferns to claim 3rd position.
England will now be looking forward to a date with destiny at 4pm local time on Saturday. The Red Roses have been the favourite in every game so far, and will likely be favoured against Canada, but this game looks incredibly tight already. I'm sure England would have liked to have the opportunity to finally defeat the Infamous Black Ferns in the final and finally exact some revenge for the suffering they have endured at the hands of New Zealand. However, Canada provide an even tougher test which should make for an exceptional game. I have to say, regardless of who wins on Saturday, the women's game looks set to enter a new stratosphere in terms of popularity.
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