Canada advance into the last four
By Mark Stevens
30/10/22
Canada coach Kevin Rouet praised his side as they sealed their place in the Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final with a 32-11 victory over the USA Eagles.
A powerful second half showing from the Canadians set them up with a last-four encounter with tournament favourites England at Eden Park in Auckland next Saturday.
Tries from McKinley Hunt, Karen Paquin, Paige Farries and Alex Tessier were the highlights for Rouet’s side, whose other points came from the boot of captain Sophie De Goede.
The Eagles, however, played their part in an entertaining encounter, taking the lead initially through a Joanna Kitlinksi try, before Alev Kelter landed two more first half penalties.
It was, however, not enough for the Eagles, who were skippered by Exeter’s Kate Zackary, one of six Chiefs players in their ranks. On the opposition side, club-mates DeLeaka Menin, Emily Tuttosi and Gabby Senft all lined up for Canada, who also had former Chiefs Olivia De Merchant and McKinley Hunt in their line-up.
“It's special because it was against USA and we love to win against USA, especially when it's a quarter-final,” said Rouet. “I’m just happy with that, just happy with the girls, the sacrifice they've made on the field and even before these games, I’m just so just happy for them just to reach the semi-final.”
With England next up, Rouet added: “I think the’ve won all their games over the past four years. For sure, we have no pressure for that. We know we are not the favourite of this tournament, so we're just happy and we're going to show that we could win, and I think we get some success against England. So, I think, I hope it's going to be a great semi-final.
“As coach, I'm there to tell them that it's not over and we have for sure two games and I want to win a World Cup. That was the first objective when they decided to sacrifice their lives. I just want to make that clear. This is not over.”
For Zackary, it’s the end of the line for her and the Eagles, who have certainly impressed during the tournament. The all-action No.8 was quick to praise her team-mates in the aftermath of the loss.
“I’m really proud of them,” she said. “It’s a really emotional time, it’s been a really hard tournament for a lot of the girls, but we talked last night about win or lose, we were going to walk off this pitch proud.
“I really couldn’t be prouder, not just of the 32 players that are here right now, but the 36 that were selected for this, [including] travelling reserves, our entire pool back at home who have been training hard the last four years for this moment, they’ve given everything to make sure the team today was most prepared.
“So, thank you to everyone back at home, thank you to everyone in the pool but a special thanks to all the fans and just letting your players come hang out with us for the last month.”
On the match itself, Zackary continued: “It was, we throw a punch, you throw a punch, and that's how rugby should be. It's the best kind of exciting rugby. So, I think we gave the fans everything they wanted.
“Obviously, we came out on the losing end, which hurts, but we talked about it in the circle. It's what fuels the fire for the next cycle and we couldn't be more proud of the work everyone's put in.”