Player Comparisons: Canada impress despite errors against Wales

Canada won their eighth game in a row against Wales in emphatic fashion at Salford Community Stadium. So it is no surprise that the women in red dominate the player comparisons in their second pool match of the Rugby World Cup.

Kevin Rouet’s side survived an intense Welsh opening 15 minutes in the north west to run out 42-0 winners thanks to a McKinley Hunt brace and efforts from Alysha Corrigan, Asia Hogan-Rochester, Taylor Perry and Brittany Kassil.

In some ways it was an uncharacteristic performance from Canada, who lost the ball 22 times by the time Julia Schell kicked the ball into the stands at full-time.

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And, despite a slow start, this performance showed why they are among the favourites to lift silverware at Allianz Stadium at the end of the month.

Front Row – Advantage Canada
Over the course of the 80 minutes Canada’s front-row had the opportunity to display their all-court game. Not only keeping 100 per cent of their ball at scrum-time, McKinley Hunt dotted down twice in the first half, and linked up play alongside her starting prop partner DaLeaka Menin.

The difference came after the yellow card of Olivia De Merchant. The prop’s high tackle on Nel Metcalfe landed her in the sin bin. Canada survived her time on the touchline, but had to dig deep and hold out Welsh drives toward the whitewash.

It was a missed afternoon for Wales’ Molly Reardon. Because while her opposite number, Emily Tuttosi, more often than not found the mark at lineout time, three first-half misfires took the pressure off Canada who were under the pump for the first 15 minutes and contributed to her side’s 50 per cent line out success.

Undeterred by those set-piece errors, the 22-year-old finished her time on the field with 16 tackles.

Second Row – Advantage Canada
Throughout her entire time on the field Sophie de Goede oozed class for Rouet’s side. By the end of the game the 26-year-old had made a game high 19 carries and been instrumental in both of Hunt’s first-half efforts. Add to that her goal-kicking and it was a particularly good day at the office.

It was about as dominant a performance as Tyson Beukeboom could have hoped for on her record-equalling 80th appearance for Canada. The 34-year-old silently motored along and kept her team’s set-piece ticking. When Courtney O’Donnell was introduced to the fray in place of Caroline Crossley, she slotted into the second row and allowed de Goede to cut loose from the back-row.

However, there was nothing despondent from the Welsh second row. Starting locks Gwen Crabb and Abbie Fleming were as consistent as Lynn would have wanted, the latter making a crucial turnover on her own line, with the duo making 33 combined tackles.

Back Row – Advantage Canada
At 37 Karen Paquin seemed to be as effervescent as ever with a series of hard carries to the defensive line, while Crossley and Gabby Senft got through as much work as possible.

Despite giving up possession twice Crossley for one impressed as she ate up ground across 11 carries for 55 meters. When she came off the bench in the second half Fabiola Forteza proved to be a handful in another display of the North Americans’ depth.

In her first game as Wales captain, and on her 60th cap, Bethan Lewis was a consistent force for her side. During her time on the field the 26-year-old made the most tackles of anyone on the pitch and maintained consistent communication with referee, Hollie Davison.

Wales No.8 Georgia Evans struggled to make an impact in the contest, something that was compounded by the forward’s card for a high tackle on Canada’s Emily Tuttosi in the 50th minute.

Half Back – Advantage Canada
In Justine Pelletier and Taylor Perry, Canada have consistency personified. The duo linked the forwards and the backs perfectly, with neither making any errors as the scoreboard ticked over.

A cover tackle from Olivia Apps went a long way to guaranteeing that Wales remained scoreless in Salford and several breaks from the 26-year-old reminded everyone why she is an Olympic sevens medalist and is the perfect replacement for Justine Pelletier.

After the first whistle there was almost too much eagerness from the Welsh half-back pairings. A rare misfire of kicks from Lleucu George put the breaks on a promising start for her side in their desperation to make up for last weekend’s 38-8 loss.

Centre – Advantage Canada
In Alex Tessier it is clear that Canada have one of the world’s best players donning the number 12 jersey. The skipper seamlessly links up play and worked well alongside lead playmaker Perry.

Again the Exeter Chiefs standout got to display her well-rounded game that can see her kick the ball well and distribute with ease. Her midfield partnership with Florence Symonds is still developing, with the sevens flyer able to break through tackles with ease and show why she is such a highly-regarded attacking threat.

Aside from several bright breaks Courtney Keight and Carys Cox were unable to make their mark on the contest. This could be seen in the latter’s total of 10 tackles as the side were treated to a consistent Canadian barrage.

Back Three – Advantage Canada
It was not plain sailing from the start for Asia Hogan-Rochester, who was held up after she received the ball from the kick-off, but the Olympic silver medallist soon made up for that. The 26-year-old made five linebreaks across 80 minutes, made 154 metres and dotted down for her try after she swatted off Bryonie King’s attempted tackle.

Alysha Corrigan got to display the consistency that has turned her into a key player for Rouet. The wing was left largely untroubled defensively and crossed the whitewash when it mattered at the end of a 12 phase possession. A week on from her six-try exploits Julia Schell’s afternoon was quieter and largely focused on defence, as she made two last-ditch tackles and fielded the high ball consistently well.

For Wales’ back three they failed to fire as their side found it difficult to turn promising build-up play into all-out attack to unleash the likes of Jasmine Joyce-Butchers, Metcalfe and Lisa Neumann.