Although the sky is in the southwest England were gray and dreary, the rugby at Sandy Park was electric, with Canada which ended the streak of 39 victories of the Red Roses with a 26-26 battle that lasted until the 80th minute.
As the final scramble sent the ball to Claire Gallagher, who kicked it into touch to tie the game, whistles echoed through the stadium. Canada made a point: they can fight the world champions. Meanwhile, the Red Roses will have to reassess what clicked and what, apparently, didn’t.
After a shaky start for England in the first half against Australia last weekend in their otherwise dominant 48-15 victory, and Canada a quick past Scotland without much complaint in a 64-26 victory, a rematch of last September’s match for the women Rugby World Cup the final, in which England triumphed 33-13 in front of 81,500, was eagerly anticipated.
Both teams opted for a 6:2 split on the bench, giving an indication that this was always going to be a game that would test which team could dominate up front. This is the furthest we have seen an England Test run, and there has been long speculation about when and how England’s winning streak will end.
Canada has come out of today’s time having proven itself since the year Women’s Rugby World Cup final last September.
Here are four talking points from today’s game…
Tearing England apart at the seams
Canada attacked England in the areas we know the Red Roses are strongest: set pieces, lines and edges out wide.
They caused key momentum shifts. Sophie de Goede and Julia Omokhuale won penalties immediately after the opening kick, preventing the Red Roses from clearing and immediately putting them under pressure inside their own 22.
Olivia Apps seized the momentum from the set-piece, with England’s defense barely having time to organize around the trouble before DaLeaka Menin was able to snip around the edges. It was so effective that she scored the match in the first half and Lizzie Gibson’s try also came through short, failed plays.
Meanwhile, by the 70th minute, with England pressing phase after phase, the try line remained out of reach, the Canadian jerseys swarming the defensive line and holding out England’s game-deciding try.
And how do you stop a world champion backline featuring Ellie Kildunne, Meg Jones and Jess Breach from scoring? Make sure they don’t get the ball.
Line breaks between England’s backs were rare and Canada managed the threat by pressing Zoe Harrison to make the pass and maintain an effective rush defence.
After the match, Sarah Bern was adamant that the result was positive: “This is what we want. We act like it’s a loss, but it’s not. It’s a draw.”
This was echoed by England head coach John Mitchell, who said: “It’s been a real arm wrestle at times, hasn’t it? We’re in a real Test series, aren’t we?”
“This is ideal for us and will allow us to stay focused on what is necessary for 80-minute performances.
“In the first half, it took us a while to get our footing, but when we did, we converted well. In that second half, we’ll learn to convert.”
Keep calm and play… Canadian
Canada showed a level of composure that took them to a whole new level.
They were unfazed when they fell behind on the scoreboard, they were unfazed when England scored the first goal of the second half, and they were undeterred when England camped in their own half.
Even with a five-metre lineout in the 74th minute, Sophie de Goede casually stole the ball and England had memories of the 2022 Rugby World Cup final.
England made things difficult for themselves, gifting Canada a second penalty just under the posts, but instead opted to tap and go, which they failed to convert. But it was the first decision-making error of its kind we’ve seen from England this year.
Even as Zoe Harrison intercepted and kicked the ball downfield, Charity Williams and Asia Hogan-Rochester raced back to challenge Claudia Moloney-MacDonald to collect the kick. Two phases later, Alex Tessier went into touch, denying England another opportunity to try to score. World class.
Like looking in a mirror
There was no breathing room for either side as they seemed to trade trial and error like characters.
Canada have developed their bag of tricks into a varied and menacing playbook as they tighten up their defense to combat the array of threats England can throw at them.
Both teams cleared the attempts. Claudia Moloney-MacDonald’s drive was ruled out for a knock-on, while Asia Hogan-Rochester had one of the most brilliant runs of her career to wipe out less than three minutes later for a forward pass.
Most importantly, Canada was able to counter the physicality of the Red Roses. Kiki Idowu was huge.
And when Olivia Apps tackles Sadia Kabeya in the 60th minute, you know you have a game on your court.
Salvation for both sides was territorial kicking. Zoe Harrison was outstanding, with a score of 50:22 which England took to the field. Alex Tessier and Claire Gallagher provided a range of threats to England’s back line, and it was one of the most impressive territorial battles in the women’s game to date.
What next?
Ultimately, both teams had inconsistencies, but today seemed to be a mental battle.
Canada seemed more composed in the decisive moments, forcing the Red Roses to outplay them. England struggled to find an answer.
That makes the remaining WXV fixtures all the more exciting, with the Red Roses heading to the Allianz Stadium at Twickenham next week to face the Black Ferns. Meanwhile, Canada travels to La Rochelle to play France.
And let’s not forget: these two sides will meet two more times in the WXV Global Series, in Toronto and Ottawa.
The two titans battle again and again. Play on!
