Key events
TRY! Canada 31-5 Australia (Hunt)
A bit of forward gumption! It started on the Australia 22 but they just bulldozed onwards and McKinley Hunt goes over. De Goede kicks the extras. This has been a destructive half from the favourites.
36 min: Another scrum and Australia come away with the ball but they just cannot seem to escape their own 22. Saying that; Caitlyn Halse with a fine kick to relieve some pressure.
35 min: DaLeaka Menin tries to power through two Australia players but cannot quite take the ball with her. Crunch. That was a mighty clash.
33 min: A scrum in Australia territory. They manage to get the ball and kick it clear – but it’s with Canada and they’re coming right back at their opponents! It’s pretty relentless right now.
No try!
Julia Schell joins the party … or so we thought. Canada pass it back into open space, send it to the right wing and Schell flies over. Hang on; we have a TMO review for a Florence Symonds knock-on in the buildup. The try is disallowed.
31 min: Australia with some pretty heroic defending to keep Canada out in the last five minutes, they’re actually doing pretty well when it looked like they could be blown away entirely in this first half. Two players down so we have a brief pause in play.
30 min: Canada win their lineout and drive for the line. They’re looking for try number five …
29 min: Emily Chancellor does really well to grab possession back, that was a great bit of defence on her own tryline. Australia keep out Canada this time.
28 min: Canada keeping Australia at arm’s length since Desiree Miller’s early breakthrough. And now they’re back on the attack, looking to stretch play again.
26 min: Australia have some possession, looking to take it into Canada’s 22. At least they’ve stemmed the flow of tries. We’re into phase 12; so far Canada’s defence is holding firm.
24 min: Canada’s defence on the line is holding firm … just! Australia so close to powering over. A real arm-wrestle here. But Piper Duck cannot quite get it over. That was close.
23 min: Australia win a lineout in Canada territory. They’re pushing – can they make it count?
22 min: Australia have some ball, which will be a relief. A bit of kicking back and forth, which Australia will enjoy just because it isn’t Canada throwing the ball around. Australia’s Faitala Moleka goes off for an HIA, Tia Hinds comes on.
TRY! Canada 24-5 Australia (Corrigan)
Alysha Corrigan gets her second, racing over from close range after a seamless Canada move. Australia are chasing shadows here, what can they do? Exhibition stuff from Canada. The try is converted and this gap is becoming a chasm.
19 min: More free-flowing Canada rugby, spraying the ball from right to left and back into the middle. Australia on the ropes.
TRY! Canada 17-5 Australia (De Goede)
After a TMO review, Sophie de Goede’s opportunistic try is given! It was a scrap for a loose ball on the Australia line and De Goede was there to go over at the crucial moment. She kicks the extras and deserves those points to her name for her display so far.
15 min: De Goede leads another break! Canada flying now, chucking the ball around in style. Australia have to weather this storm.
TRY! Canada 10-5 Australia (Corrigan)
Alysha Corrigan, take a bow! She breaks clear after a slick passing move but she has to show incredible strength to twist her body across the line as a challenge came in. That was pretty special. Another missed conversion.
12 min: Canada steal an Australia lineout (seconds after Australia had done the same to them). Tthe Wallaroos defence is tested one again.
No try!
The action keeps coming! Great work from De Goede and Tessier get the ball to the line and DaLeaka Menin bulldozes it over … the try is given, or is it? The TMO calls Hollie Davidson across. No try! Menin did not have control as she grounded it. Fair decision.
9 min: It’s attack and counterattack, a ding-dog battle. Canada are right in Australia’s territory again. Can a defence hold firm?
TRY! Canada 5-5 Australia (Miller)
Game on! Australia move the ball very well, get some space out on the left flank and Desiree Miller turns on the afterburners – no doubt she was getting to the line. What a response!
6 min: A pause as Adiana Talakai gets some treatment, but the hooker is OK to coninue. Australia win their lineout and have the ball. Can they find any holes in the red wall in front of them?
4 min: De Goede missed the conversion from out wide, but she’s showing her skills already in the opening minutes, seeing plenty of the ball. Australia have to settle and fast.
TRY! Canada 5-0 Australia (Hogan-Rochester)
After only two minutes! Asia Hogan-Rochester breaks away on the wing from Sophie de Goede’s pass and she races clear to touch down. Oh wow – Australia’s defence were not awake there.
1 min: Canada have a lineout early on in their own half. They grab the first one well and attempt to power forwards.
Kick-off!
Canada receive to start the first half, and this quarter-final is under way in Bristol.
Anthems done: O Canada and Advance Australia Fair sung with no little harmony. Honours even on that front. Kick-off is imminent!
The teams are making their way out on to the pitch. Canada’s Alex Tessier has a beaming grin, her opposite number Siokapesi Palu is more game-face ready. What will be the support split in a lively sounding crowd?
A bit of AC/DC is blasting out at Ashton Gate – Thunderstruck – though the weather looks fine despite forecasts of possible rain. We await the teams any moment now!
Kévin Rouet, the Canada head coach, is a-OK with the idea that his side are being overlooked in this tournament, despite their lofty world ranking. “It makes sense – New Zealand are reigning champions, England are world No 1 – we are happy with it.
“Australia have improved in the four months since we last time we played them; we have improved as well. It’ll be a physical game and the kicking will be key.”
“It’s about fronting up physically and not being afraid to take them on,” says Jo Yapp, the Australia coach. “We have to be brave, we have to be prepared to move the ball.
“You get one shot. You get one opportunity today – it’s a do-or-die game.”
It’s put to Yapp on TV that the Australia side went into the dressing room this afternoon like they were on a hen night(!). She affirms that singing and dancing is the energy the Wallaroos always bring pre-match. Let’s hope her team are, erm, wedded to Yapp’s gameplan today.
“A heavyweight boxing match,” assesses the former England ace Maggie Alphonsi on the BBC. “Both of these teams have powerful packs – and backs that can really move the ball around. Australia really rattled England for 20 minutes.” Can they do that for longer against Canada?
Australia’s on-pitch leader, Siokapesi Palu, has some positive pre-match chat for the underdogs.
“There has been a huge boost in confidence among the group. You can see that week in week out, we continue to get better. Being able to put a performance like that against a top-quality side [England] for the first 30 minutes surprised us. It’s good because it instils a bit of belief.”
Captain’s log: Alex Tessier, the Canada skipper, had this to say in the buildup to today’s knockout clash.
“Pressure is a privilege and we’re looking forward to a good battle on Saturday. We took a lot of learnings [from the win against Scotland]. We didn’t apply the same pressure that we normally do. We’ve looked at this week, and we’re looking forward to putting teams under pressure and building on it as well. We’ve fixed a couple of errors, but there was nothing major.”
Rob Kitson was in Exeter for today’s first quarter-final: the Black Ferns coming through after South Africa put on a mighty first-half effort. Please enjoy Rob’s rip-roaring report responsibly!
In New Zealand rugby the female of the species is currently deadlier then the male. South Africa’s women were always going to struggle to replicate the Springboks’ record-breaking result in Wellington a few hours earlier but, after a stuttering first half, the Black Ferns raised their game significantly in the second to secure their place in next weekend’s World Cup semi-finals.
Australia team
Jo Yapp makes two swaps to the Australia XV that took on England: Emily Chancellor and Cecilia Smith are experienced replacements for two veterans, Ashley Marsters and Trilleen Pomare.
The Wallaroos are a young, dynamic side with lively ball-carrying skills. Full-back Caitlyn Halse, who turns 19 next week, has started every game of this World Cup. Maya Stewart and Desiree Miller are both rapid, both gamechangers (providing Australia can get the ball to the pair in the right areas).
Australia: Caitlyn Halse; Maya Stewart, Georgina Friedrichs, Cecilia Smith, Desiree Miller; Faitala Moleka, Samantha Wood; Lydia Kavoa, Adiana Talakai, Eva Karpani, Kaitlan Leaney, Michaela Leonard, Piper Duck, Emily Chancellor, Siokapesi Palu (capt).
Replacements: Katalina Amosa, Faliki Pohiva, Bridie O’Gorman, Ashley Fernandez, Ashley Marsters, Tabua Tuinakauvadra, Tia Hinds, Trilleen Pomare.
Canada team
Three changes to Kévin Rouet’s lineup from the 40-19 win against Scotland: Courtney O’Donnell and Caroline Crossley are in the pack, Alysha Corrigan will look to show her skills on the wing.
The fact that imposingly named Tyson Beukeboom drops to the bench says more about the number of options Rouet has at his disposal than anything the 81-cap Canada icon has done wrong. Julia Schell is the tournament’s joint-top try scorer from the pool stage, putting six on Fiji. Sophie de Goede is just, well, too good (sorry): a deadly kicker and a danger with the ball in hand.
Canada: Julia Schell; Alysha Corrigan, Florence Symonds, Alex Tessier (capt), Asia Hogan-Rochester; Taylor Perry; Justine Pelletier; McKinley Hunt, Emily Tuttosi, DaLeaka Menin, Sophie de Goede, Courtney O’Donnell, Caroline Crossley, Karen Paquin, Fabiola Forteza.
Replacements: Gillian Boag, Brittany Kassil, Olivia DeMerchant, Tyson Beukeboom, Laetitia Royer, Gabrielle Senft, Olivia Apps, Shoshanah Seumanutafa.
Preamble
Welcome to the second World Cup quarter-final: Canada v Australia for a place opposite the defending champions New Zealand in the last four. Canada are ranked No 2 in the world, went unbeaten in the group phase and – despite being almost entirely amateur and largely self-funded – are firm favourites today. Australia are seventh in the world rankings, won one match in qualifying from Pool A and have never beaten Canada in seven attempts.
And yet … let’s not entirely write off the Wallaroos. They emerged from the toughest group, drew with the USA in what was essentially an early qualification shootout and, in their last outing, gave England more problems than the final scoreline suggested. Australia led the hosts and tournament favourites for 26 minutes before succumbing in the second half.
Meanwhile Scotland put three tries on Canada in their last game and – for all the brilliance of Sophie de Goede, Julia Schell, Alex Tessier et al – you feel there is room for Kévin Rouet’s side to improve. Australia have some exciting young stars, not least the 18-year-old sensation Caitlyn Halse and the lighting-quick Desiree Miller (five tries and counting in this World Cup).
To counteract that, you only have to look at Canada’s bench, which includes the likes of record cap-holder Tyson Beukeboom and the versatile Laetitia Royer, to understand their strength in depth. They have a world-class pack and even if Australia get off to a promising start at Ashton Gate, Canada may well crank up the power in the second half. Will we see an upset or the Maple Leafs put on a dazzling early autumn show? Let’s find out!
Kick-off is at 4pm BST.
