BRISTOL, England :Canada ended New Zealand’s decade of dominance at the Women’s World Cup, conjuring a 34-19 victory over the Black Ferns on Friday to reach the final and inflict a first defeat in the tournament on the double defending champions since 2014.
Justine Pelletier, Asia Hogan-Rochester, Florence Symonds, and Sophie de Goede crossed for Canada in a stunning first-half performance and Alex Tessier added another try after the break to extend what was already a healthy lead.
Six-times champions New Zealand produced a spirited fightback in the second half but could not prevent the Canadians reaching their second World Cup final after losing to England 11 years ago.
It was New Zealand’s first World Cup semi-final defeat since 1991 with Canada now eagerly awaiting the winners of Saturday’s second semi-final between England and France in the decider at Twickenham next Saturday.
“I’m excited already,” said Canada coach Kevin Rouet. “I said to the girls to stop crying because we have a job to do in eight days. That’s the mindset. We need to finish the job and be ready in eight days.”
Ranked second in the world and one place above New Zealand, Canada were hardly underdogs but their opponents’ record spoke for itself and when it came to the hardened business of winning World Cup semi-finals the Black Ferns were in a different league.
This was their eighth and they had won the previous six while Canada by contrast had lost all but one of their previous five last-four encounters.
Yet if the Canadians were intimidated by their opponents’ World Cup pedigree, they certainly did not show it as they took the match by the scruff of the neck with a devastating first-half display.
They scored their first try in the eighth minute when Alysha Corrigan played it inside to Pelletier, who sold a dummy, jinked back and touched down.
CLEAR DAYLIGHT
Three minutes later there was clear daylight between the sides as a long pass out to the wing found Hogan-Rochester, who shrugged off the tackle of New Zealand fullback Renee Holmes and crossed in the corner.
Canada extended their lead again in the 24th minute, laying siege to the New Zealand line, before the ball was thrown wide for Symonds to cross.
That seemed to jolt the Black Ferns awake and their first period of pressure ended with Tanya Kalounivale picking the ball up and bundling over from close range to reduce the deficit.
Yet seemingly stung by their opponents’ riposte, the Canadians crossed again before the break as Pelletier fed De Goede inside and she galloped over from 25 metres out and added the extras to send her side in 24-7 up at the break.
Three minutes after the restart Canada put their foot back on the throttle with a fifth try, as Tessier cut back and slid over, after an attack down the left was held up.
The contest, however, was reignited when Liana Mikaele-Tu’u drove over the line after a spell of New Zealand pressure and when Sorensen-McGee collected Ruahei Demant’s chip kick to the corner and touched down to reduce the deficit to 31-19 with 15 minutes remaining, it was game on.
It was swiftly game over, however, as a De Goede penalty calmed Canadian jitters, putting them more than two converted tries clear, a lead they were never going to relinquish.
“They were exceptional and it will be a great final,” said New Zealand captain Kennedy Tukuafu.
“I think how far the women’s game has come, it’s pretty special to be part of this legacy, to see how big this tournament’s been, the biggest there’s ever been, so we can be proud of contributing to that.”
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
