Web_124158.RUGBYU-Wales-Women–12395435_PICTURES_PRI13 (25b5afdcf4b414488c7758f1eb5bae69430e87b3) PA Wire
Canada’s bid to ruin England’s home tournament continues to gather pace after cruising to a 42-0 win over Wales, with their outstanding forward Sophie de Goede the star of the show. The more goalkicking forwards the better, with De Goede converting all six of Canada’s tries in Salford and also providing the assist for McKinley Hunt’s opening score.
Asia Hogan-Rochester scored arguably the pick of Canada’s tries, finishing off a lethal counter-attack from a restart. Sadly for Wales, that moment summed up their defensive struggles in their opening two matches. The Scotland match last week had been a must-win and they were blown off the field in a 38-8 drubbing.
A bright start against Canada failed to produce points and that was as close as they went. The Wales captain, Bethan Lewis, remained upbeat. “Obviously there’s disappointment with that finishing scoreline, but the first 10-15 minutes, we showed what we can do. It’s just about doing that for the full 80 and not allowing lapses of concentration. I’m proud of how we’ve come out after last week but I know we’ve got more to give.”
Scotland’s Francesca McGhie tormented Wales last week and gave her country the perfect start in their 29-15 win over Fiji, scoring inside the first two minutes by winning the race to Emma Orr’s kick behind the defence. Two scores for McGhie’s wing partner Rhona Lloyd meant Scotland led 17-5 at the break, with Fiji’s cause not helped by a yellow card for a high tackle by Vika Matarugu.
There was a moment after Manuqalo Komaitai’s try in the second half, finishing an excellent team move, where Scotland might have tensed up. McGhie’s second try and Bitila Tawake’s red card for a high tackle on Elis Martin eased that pressure, but Fiji remained competitive until the end even when playing with 14. In fact, they finished the match with 13 players following Adi Salote Nailolo’s deliberate knock-on desperately trying to prevent another Scotland try. As contests go, it was highly entertaining.
“Scrappy, very very scrappy,” conceded Evie Gallagher, player of the match. “You’ve got to give credit to Fiji, they brought it to us, pushed us right to our limits, but I’m glad we got to put on such a show for all the fans who came to watch.”
Wales await next for Fiji, but the battle between the top two sides in Pool B in Exeter next Saturday between Canada and Scotland, with two bonus-point wins each to their name so far, should be one of the best matches in the pool stages, even with both sides already through to the quarter-finals.
Four fixtures await on Sunday and attention will be on Pool C to see how New Zealand and Ireland build on their perfect starts to the tournament. Six-time champions New Zealand are in action against Japan in Exeter and the big guns are back in their starting backline, with Ruahei Demant, Katelyn Vaha’akolo and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe all coming into the side.
History beckons for Woodman-Wickliffe, widely and rightly regarded as the world’s best player, who needs one more try to become New Zealand’s all-time top try scorer. No men’s or women’s player has ever scored 50 Test tries for New Zealand. Woodman-Wickliffe would certainly be a fitting person to break that landmark. “It will be some of our ladies’ first World Cup game, so it’s going to be a pretty special moment for them,” said Allan Bunting, the New Zealand head coach, with Vaha’akolo, Atlanta Lolohea, Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu and Maia Joseph all making their World Cup debuts. “World Rugby and England have done a good job. We feel pretty special here.”
Meanwhile Ireland head coach Scott Bemand has made seven changes to his side for their game against Spain, as Ireland look to build on their opening 42-14 win over Japan. Bemand spoke warily of Spain’s mobility given the number of players in their side with backgrounds playing sevens. “This is our first chance to nail that quarter-final position –we’re absolutely gunning for it.”
Two matches in Pool D round off the action with France taking on tournament newcomers Brazil, while Italy face South Africa looking for their first points of the tournament after a 24-0 loss to France.
Analysis: Sarah Beckett – Red Roses have delivered but Wales lack clinical edge in sobering defeat
England’s dominant victory over Samoa highlighted a frustrating reality: while they scored freely, with a wide variety of tries scored, it was difficult to assess what they truly gained from the encounter. The Samoans offered minimal resistance, and the Red Roses largely played in cruise control. The main takeaway was a good runout and valuable game minutes for players in the wider squad, as head coach John Mitchell made 13 changes from the team that faced the USA in round one. While the scoreline reflected a clinical performance, it revealed little about England’s readiness for more competitive opposition as they progress in the tournament.
In the end, Samoa just couldn’t cope with England’s ball speed and fell short physically – both in terms of fitness and their collision physicality. I expected that Samoa would be weak at the set piece but be strong in contact, so I was disappointed to see how underwhelming they were when it came to the latter. England now face Australia, with 10 points already in the bag and a quarter-final place confirmed. In terms of what Mitchell wanted out of this group stage, the Red Roses have delivered exactly what he ordered.
Wales, however, faced a far more sobering reality in their 42-0 defeat to Canada. The Welsh performance was one of frustration, as they struggled to execute despite a promising start. For much of the first half, Wales showed physicality and created a number of attacking opportunities, but they lacked the clinical edge to capitalise on them. Canada, on the other hand, defended resolutely and exploited gaps in the Welsh defence when the opportunities arose. The Welsh scrum, which had been solid early on, faltered as the match wore on, and their set pieces(?) began to fall apart after the opening 20 minutes. The lineout was also poor until head coach Sean Lynn made key changes in the forwards.
The second half saw Wales find their way, especially in the last 25 minutes, but by that point there was no saving them. The truth is, they struggled from the 15th minute up until the 55th. As the pressure mounted, they could not cope with Canada’s tactical execution and sharp ball movement, especially after Wales’ defensive lapses. Despite some handling errors, Canada were in a commanding position. The Welsh chase-back was commendable, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the inevitable as Canada secured the victory with ease.
I predict that Ireland will comfortably beat Spain. Clàudia Peña will be crucial to Spain’s attack, but I think Ireland’s forwards will bring the edge that the team need to see out an important win.
Photograph by Mike Egerton/PA