Canada v England
England squeezed home by the barest margin in a great tribute to Canadian rugby.
A final flourish by the Player of the Match, Zoe Aldcroft, in the 80th minute is all the proof we need. The skimpy total England achieved was exactly the same as in the World Cup final a decade ago; here in Vancouver, Canada were in the lead for far longer.
A good crowd was in town to watch the climax of the tournament. They were held spellbound throughout. So tight was the game that every score was worth its weight in gold.
Opening Skirmishes
England collected the kick-off safely, but sent so few players to the breakdown that they conceded an early penalty. A few moments later they chose to run the ball out of defence, but Helena Rowland was trapped and the ball lost. Here we had the seeds of the new English approach, which I try to dismantle in detail at the end.
In his post-match interview John Mitchell said he wanted his team to play faster. We’ve heard that before, and I’ve wondered what he really means, and why he chooses it as his new watchword. Teams across the world studied the Red Roses’ methods during Simon Middleton’s term of office and copied them.
Recently Black Ferns’ sides have been indulging in the driving maul; so have plenty of others. Under the new leadership England reject that approach, and the immediate result at BC Place was a try by Justine Pelletier inside four minutes. She sniped around the corner and was over. (5-0)
At the other end of the ground the Roses reverted to a more familiar pattern. Alex Matthews drove from an attacking scrum. She was held just short, but when the ball came to Maud Muir she bundled over and Rowland added two points. 5-7
Was this the start of the torrent of tries many expected? It seemed so as Bo Westcombe-Evans (BWE) did her Abby Dow performance down the right touchline, but it didn’t bring a score.
There was thrilling play from both sides as the ball swung from end to end. Another feature that was rare in the Middleton era, the Mo Hunt box-kick, was on show here. The first one worked: the catch was dropped.
For the next ten minutes England dominated ball and territory, but they couldn’t score. Canadian defences were as devouring as England’s have been. Their main weakness was the line-out; their failure to secure such valuable ball may lie at the centre of the post-match analysis.
The Red Roses still had plenty of possession and invention, but as the break crept closer, they had nothing to show for it. Ellie Kildunne even dropped a simple catch in her own half.
Indeed the Canadians swarmed all over English territory in the closing moments. Aimee Barrett-Theron (ABT) was perfectly positioned to call “held up” as Pelletier made her bid for a second try. The hosts were looking thoroughly dangerous, but a final grubber bounced away to close proceedings.
Half-time: 5-7 (only!)
The collisions continued with full force. Alysha Corrigan had to replace Paige Farries on the wing.
Spectators still couldn’t be sure who was going to make the next error or the next brilliant break. Aitchison dropped a simple looking catch; Kildunne slid a clever left-footed kick through. Alex Tessier, who had another fine game (captain today), chipped a searching left-foot kick herself. Maddie Feaunati made a vital tackle, but ABT spotted Kildunne making a ‘cynical’ intervention and sent her on her way. That was the first of two yellows England were to suffer.
Hunt hoisted another box-kick to relieve pressure and eat up time. It hindered the Canadian cause when DaLeaka Menin told ABT what she thought of a decision and was marched back 10 metres. The errors piled up. An angled Aitchison kick was fumbled, but an English line-out was crook. Tessier opted for a scrum as her pack’s line-out was so unreliable.
Jess Breach was caught holding on, but Tessier’s kick missed touch. England tried to keep the ball close, but the red shirts opened up thrillingly. Aitchison just managed to haul Corrigan down, when she looked to be going all the way. Now Tessier again: as she moved left, she assessed her options. The midfield expected a pass, but she spotted a gap and accelerated through for a great solo try. (12-7) The crowd roared.
The ball was getting giddy with movement. Menin dropped it, and the English rushed forward. The next moment it needed a second Aitchison tackle to stop an attack. Despite Kildunne’s return, the trophy-holders were being given the run-around; yet another English pass lobbed into touch.
Even worse, BWE saw yellow as she stuck a hand out to intercept a likely Canadian pass. Back to 15-14. But no surprise that England won a scrum penalty.
On 60 minutes Canada at last took a clean line-out; they built menacingly, but a knock-on applied the brake.
England have been so used to scoring tries from any distance that their fans felt they would still turn the game. In the 66th minute they did. The ball swung right to Kildunne and she kicked into the red zone. The forwards hammered at the line, and finally Sarah Bern had the skill and strength to reach over the line. 12-14
Lucy Packer, now at No 9, showed real courage and ingenuity to run the ball behind her line. She slipped the ball to Kildunne who weaved about 80 metres downfield. Claire Gallagher just saved the day. Emily Scarratt had two moments she won’t enjoy. She was caught holding on on the ground, then she couldn’t grab a short pass from Tatyana Heard in a variation of a favourite loop move.
In the last quarter-hour the Maple Leafs came thundering back. Julia Schell offered two searching kicks that had defences scrambling again. But the Red Roses pack dominated the closing stages. As the clock passed 80, it was the tireless Zoe Aldcroft who thrust and burrowed her way over the line to break Canadian hearts.
A twentieth win in a row, but it needed a dose of luck to achieve.
Result: Canada 12 England 21 (21-9 in the RWC 2014 final)
Player of the Match: Zoe Aldcroft
Teams:
Canada
1 McKinley Hunt (Saracens) 2 Emily Tuttosi (Exeter Chiefs) 3 DaLeaka Menin (Exeter Chiefs) 4 Courtney Holtkamp (Red Deer Titans) 5 Laetitia Royer (ASM Romagnat ) 6 Pamphinette Buisa (Ottawa Irish) 7 Fabiola Forteza (Stade Bordelais) 8 Gabrielle Senft (Stade Bordelais) 9 Justine Pelletier (Stade Bordelais) 10 Claire Gallagher (Leicester Tigers ) 11 Paige Farries (Saracens ) 12 Alexandra Tessier (captain), Exeter Chiefs) 13 Shoshanah Seumanutafa (Chiefs Manukau) 14 Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto Nomads) 15 Julia Schell (Trailfinders)
16 Sara Cline (Western Force ) 17 Brittany Kassil (Guelph ) 18 Alexandria Ellis (Stade Villeneuvois Lille Métropole) 19 Tyson Beukeboom (Trailfinders) 20 Julia Omokhuale (Leicester Tigers) 21 Olivia Apps (Lindsay) 22 Alysha Corrigan (Saracens) 23 Fancy Bermudez (Saracens)
England
1 Hannah Botterman (Bears) 2 Amy Cokayne (Tigers) 3 Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury) 4 Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury) 5 Rosie Galligan (Saracens) 6 Maddie Feaunati (Chiefs) 7 Marlie Packer (captain, Saracens) 8 Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury) 9 Mo Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury) 10 Holly Aitchison (Bears) 11 Jess Breach (Saracens) 12 Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury) 13 Helena Rowland (Lightning) 14 Bo Westcombe-Evans (Lightning)
16 Lark Atkin-Davies (Bears) 17 Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury) 18 Sarah Bern (Bears) 19 Abbie Ward (Bears) 20 Morwenna Talling (Sharks) 21 Lucy Packer (Quins) 22 Zoe Harrison (Saracens) 23 Emily Scarratt (Lightning)
Officials
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)
ARs: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR) and Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZR)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)
WXV1 table Pts
England 14
Ireland 10
Canada 9
New Zealand 7
France 5
USA 0
Afterthoughts
Why has Mitchell made such a dead-set on playing a fast game? If that has been his philosophy in all the dozens of teams he has coached, then fair enough. But I have the nagging feeling he needed to offer a variation on the Middleton approach to the game which had proved so successful.
So the emphasis (from media and the commentariat) is that England’s reliance on the driving maul was seen as an abiding weakness. Of course, this was a gross misreading of what actually happened during their previous run of victories. The try-scoring feats of Breach, Dow and Kildunne are all the proof we need.
How different might this game have been, if the forwards had done their party-piece once or twice early on? If they had reached double figures in the first quarter, my hunch is they would have walked away to victory. Nothing of the sort happened; all the scores were hard won. The Canadians helped themselves to two tries.
One line of reasoning goes: this is the way to bring in the crowds – rather like The Hundred in cricket – smash bang wallop. Or in rugby terms, fling it wide and often and hope for the best.
Aitchison played a central role, kicking for territory. Was that all part of the Mitchell plan?
When we consider the Black Ferns’ demolition of the French the same evening, doubts about an RWC win next autumn bubble up.
It was heartening to see a really decent crowd on hand to witness exciting events.
