Canada win 2016 Super Series

Photo: USA Rugby

Canada 19 France 10

Report by Rugby Canada

Canada ran in five tries as Barbara Mervin, Andrea Burk, Frederique Rajotte, Olivia DeMerchant and Latoya Blackwood all scored.

It's a huge satisfaction,” said Francois Ratier, Canada’s Senior Women’s Head Coach, who had to leave the tour early due to personal reasons. “We learned from last year and we achieved our goal of getting better throughout the year.

“I am proud of the team and my fantastic staff.”

Canada had won its opening two games of the WRSS after dominating England 52-17 in their opener before a comprehensive 33-5 victory over the USA Tuesday. In its three games, Canada scored 114 points.

"It's a pretty impressive performance by all of our players in the three games," interim Senior Women's Head Coach Shaun Allen said. "We showed a lot of heart, a lot of tenacity. Today was as close to a complete performance as we could put together."

Canada came to life in the 27th minute after what was a lackadaisical opening from both sides — France’s captain Gaelle Mignot with the lone try to give her side a 5-0 lead — as French No. 8 Safi N’Diaye was sent to the bin. Canada strung together twenty plus phases before Mervin grabbed Canada the lead as she touched down with Burk converting.

With the extra player, Canada jolted to life as Burk would extend the Canadian lead in the 32nd minute as after Blackwood had pierced the French backline, Burk would sneak over in the corner off the back of the breakdown a few phases later before superbly converting her own try to give Canada a 14-5 lead.

Canada ended the half on a high as Rajotte would snag her first test try as she finished off a swift move after the Canadian pack had stolen the French lineout to give Canada a 19-5 edge at the interval.

The second half played out a lot like the first — another Mignot try cutting Canada’s lead to 19-10 — but it wasn’t until the 68th minute Canada got their fourth with Mapledale native Olivia DeMerchant charging over from the breakdown.

Montreal’s Blackwood would complete the scoring in the 77th minute as she muscled over to seal an emphatic 29-10 victory.

"The girls put in a lot of work in this camp and we stepped it up every time we stepped onto the field," captain Laura Russell said. "As we continue to build towards the Women's Rugby World Cup, it's important for us to come together as a group like this and having wins against these teams puts us on the front foot."

Canada, who entered the tournament ranked fifth in the world, moved up to fourth after beating England and seem destined to rise higher in the World Rugby rankings.

"It's important to get wins over those three countries to start building some momentum towards the Women's Rugby World Cup," Allen said. "The wins against these teams validate the process that our players are going through."

Canada: 1. Carolyn McEwen (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club), Vancouver, BC; 2. Jane Kirby (Highland RFC) Brampton, ON; 3. DaLeaka Menin (Hornets) Vulcan, AB; 4. Laura Russell captain (Toronto Nomads) Bolton, ON; 5. Kayla Mack (Wild Oats) Saskatoon, SK; 6. Barbara Mervin (Velox RFC) Peterborough, ON; 7. Latoya Blackwood (St. Anne de Bellevue/Toulouse) Montreal, QC; 8. Jacey Grusnick (Aurora Barbarians) Alliston, ON; 9. Chelsea Guthrie (Stratchona Druids) Edmonton, AB; 10. Emily Belchos (Markham Irish) Barrie, ON; 11. Frédériqe Rajotte (Sainte Anne de Bellevue RFC) Sainte Anne de Bellevue, QC; 12. Andrea Burk (Capilano RFC) North Vancouver, BC; 13. Alex Tessier (Montreal Barbarians) Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QB; 14. Brittany Waters (Castaway Wanderers) Vancouver, BC; 15. Julianne Zussman (Castaway Wanderers) Montreal, QC; 16. Julia Folk (UVic/Castaway Wanderers), Regina, SK; 17. Demi Stamatakis (SFU) Vancouver, BC; 18. Olivia DeMerchant (Woodstock Wildmen) Mapledale, NB; 19. Tyson Beukeboom (Aurora Barbarians) Uxbridge, ON; 20. Fabiola Forteza (Club de Rugby de Quebec) Quebec, QC; 21. Brianna Miller (SABRFC), Pointe-Claire, QC; 22. Anais Holly (TMRRFC) Montreal, QC; 23. Katie McNally (Castaway Wanderers) Guelph, ON;

France: 1. Lise Arricastre; 2. Gaelle Mignot - captain; 3. Julie Duval; 4. Celine Ferer; 5. Audrey Forlani; 6. Gaelle Hermet; 7. Romane Menager; 8. Safi N'Diaye; 9. Laure Sansus; 10. Camille Imart; 11. Laura Delas; 12. Elodie Poublan; 13. Lucille Godiveau; 14. Julie Billes; 15. Audrey Abadie; 16. Agathe Sochat; 17. Dhia Traore; 18. Manon Andre; 19. Virginie Griere; 20. Yanna Rivoalen; 21. Pauline Bourdron; 22. Carla Neissen; 23. Patricia Carricaburu

United States 13 England 39

Report from USA Rugby & RFU: The Eagles had targeted theEngland match throughout the Series, hoping to improve in each performance to finish on a high in the final match, but a Lydia Thompson’s hat-trick carried England to a comfortable win.

Despite heavy resistance from the Eagles, who made their one-on-one tackles from their own opening restart, England was able to move down the field through penalties called against the U.S. as well as effective set-piece- and open-play movements. It took just four minutes to open the scoring as an England lineout maul, contained by the home side, spun the ball out for the backs to use quick hands to Lydia Thompson in space on the wing.

After their struggles against France last time out, England went out to utilise the width of the pitch and make the USA move from side to side. It worked a treat too, as holes opened up through the middle and out wide for powerful runners, such as Matthews, to exploit.

It was also forward power which bullied the USA so often throughout the match, and a rolling maul allowed Amy Cokayne to bundle over 15 minutes later.

Fly half Kimber Rozier kicked the Eagles onto the scoresheet with five minutes remaining in the half to draw within seven points at 10-3, but England still had time to extend the lead before the halftime whistle for a 15-3 lead when Thompson scored her second try

Two minutes into the second half, an England lineout five meters from the line turned into another seven points. As the ball came down and the Eagles prepared for a maul, Harriet Millar-Mills spun the ball out to Alex Matthews, who ran through one attempted tackle before beating full back Jess Wooden at the try zone.

Millie Wood then added another before Thompson completed her hat-trick with a fine solo try. The winger picked the ball up in her own half, shrugged off a couple of tackles and sprinted away for a fine score.

"We played well in stretches, but we didn't finish," Baggetta said post-match. "You can't really look at the game and say a player didn't perform well. I think we, as coaches, need to do a better job of preparing players to make better decisions in those critical moments. If the players make poor decisions or they don't execute, we have to look internally and ask what we need to do better to prepare the players."

It was 39-6 heading into the final five minutes of the match, when the Eagles had one of their best attacking movements of the match. Alycia Washington, a nuisance on both sides of the ball, was rewarded and rewarded her team for its hard work by taking a tap five meters from the line and keeping her hands free to be able to place the ball on the grass for a 33-13 final score.

"I think you saw, in bits and pieces, an attacking structure that allows us to move the ball and attack through the spaces," Baggetta said. "I thought we played, at times, some exciting rugby. There was some nice offloading, nice running lines; we saw glimpses of that.

"What we didn't have is enough consistency with that attacking play and enough consistency with taking care of the ball. Once again, it's incumbent on us as coaches to find out what we need to do better to prepare the team."

United States: 1. Catherine Benson; 2. Kathryn Augustyn; 3. Hope Rogers; 4. Stacey Bridges (C); 5. Alycia Washington; 6. Christiane Pheil; 7. Elizabeth Cairns; 8. Jordan Gray; 9. Jennifer Lui; 10. Kimberly Rozier; 11. Naya Tapper; 12. Sylvia Braaten; 13. Nate Serevi; 14. Saskia Morgan; 15. Jessica Wooden

16. Samantha Pankey; 17. Tiffany Faaee; 18. Jamila Reinhardt; 19. Molly Kinsella; 20. Nicole Strasko; 21. Deven Owsiany; 22. Megan Foster; 23. Tess Feury;

England: 1. Victoria Cornborough; 2. Amy Cokayne; 3. Laura Keates; 4. Harriet Millar-Mills; 5. Tamara Taylor; 6. Alex Matthews; 7. Izzy Noel-Smith; 8. Sarah Hunter (C); 9. Bianca Blackburn; 10. Amber Reed; 11. Lotte Clapp; 12. Ceri Large; 13. Lauren Cattell; 14. Lydia Thompson; 15. Fiona Pocock

16. Lark Davies; 17. Rochelle Clark; 18. Sarah Bern; 19. Zoe Aldcroft; 20. Poppy Leitch; 21. Leanne Riley; 22. Millie Wood; 23. Katie Mason