Kevin Rouet and Jo Yapp have announced their sides to meet in the quarter-finals
They are:
Canada
1 HUNT 2 TUTTOSI 3 MENIN 4 DE GOEDE 5 O’DONNELL 6 CROSSLEY 7 PAQUIN 8 FORTEZA 9 PELLETIER 10 PERRY 11 HOGAN-ROCHESTER 12 TESSIER (captain) 13 SYMONDS 14 CORRIGAN 15 SCHELL
16 BOAG 17 KASSIL 18 DEMERCHANT 19 BEUKEBOOM 20 ROYER 21 SENFT 22 APPS 23 SEUMANUTAFA
Australia
1 KAVOA 2 TALAKAI 3 KARPANI 4 LEANEY 5 LEONARD 6 DUCK 7 CHANCELLOR 8 PALU (captain) 9 WOOD 10 MOLEKA 11 MILLER 12 C. SMITH 13 FRIEDRICHS 14 STEWART 15 HALSE
16 AMOSA 17 POHIVA 18 O’GORMAN 19 FERNANDEZ 20 MARSTERS 21 TUINAKAUVADRA 22 HINDS 23 POMARE
Rouet has made minor changes to the side that defeated Scotland: Fabiola Forteza moves to 8, sending Gabrielle Senft to the bench. Aylsha Corrigan returns to the right wing.
The one big surprise is seeing a 6:2 bench split. Since I castigated Swys de Bruin for his 7:1 split for the Boks, I feel I must criticise Rouet for his decision. Are all the other backs injured? No.
Or perhaps I should lie down and let this unstoppable trend roll me flat.
Yapp has made a few adjustments too. Up front Emily Chancellor is restored at 7; out behind Cecilia Smith returns to partner Georgie Friedrichs in the centre.
The Wallaroos are playing the underdog role, and with reason. A win at Bristol would be their first in eight attempts.
Skipper Palu speaks optimistically of the pressure lying heavily on the favourites. That will allow her side to play with the freedom that is the hallmark of their style.
Certainly, spectators and viewers alike want all the tension that can be squeezed out of these quarter-finals. But I can see only one winner, and it won’t be wearing a gold-medallist’s gold.
This may well prove to be Jo Yapp’s last game in charge. The consensus view is that she has done an excellent job, helping to build on Jay Tregonning’s efforts, not least by introducing a number of talented younger players.
Details
Date: 13 September
KO: 13.00 BST
Venue: Ashton Gate Bristol
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)
