'They know how to win' - Corrigan wary for Black Ferns semi-final

Alysha Corrigan expects a stern challenge from the Black Ferns when Canada face them in a 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final next week.

The wing scored two tries as the North Americans beat Australia 46-5 in Bristol to book their place in the final four.

Over the past two years Kévin Rouet’s side have enjoyed positive results against New Zealand.

In 2024 they registered their first-ever victory over the reigning world champions and earlier this season drew 27-27 in Christchurch.

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Those results have supported Canada’s case as World Cup contenders plenty and their charge to second overall in the World Rugby rankings.

Even with those results so close to mind Corrigan knows that the six-time world champions will not be resting on their laurels heading into the Friday night clash.

With a history of winning big games when they matter most, the 28-year-old Olympic silver medalist  took a measured approach to the notion of taking on such a historically successful side.

“We can take confidence from our performances over the last year, whether it was against New Zealand or whoever we played,” Corrigan said.

“I think New Zealand’s not a team to look down on. They’re an incredible team. They have how many World Cups. They know how to play knockout rugby. They know how to win.

“It’s going to be an exciting game and we’re looking forward to that challenge.”

Canada enjoyed their best performance of the tournament against Australia.

In the opening half the Canucks scored five tries to take a firm grasp of the contest, with only Desiree Miller’s sixth minute effort acting as the only bump before they closed out the game in the second half.

There was a fine balance to everything that Canada did. And a stark contrast to their pool game wins over Scotland, Wales and Fiji, which were far from perfect as the side gave the ball away 64 times and conceded 24 penalties.

Rouet implored his side to switch mindset ahead of the knockouts to “do or die rugby”. Which they did in style.

“I think the best thing about knockout rugby is, you need to find the balance of confidence and winning the game,” Corrigan said. “You saw that in the first 40 versus the second 40.

“If we can put a game away in the first 40 and then game manage in the second 40 – we’re happy with that.

“It’s about saving bodies when we can and just being able to have a six-day turnaround and be able to perform next weekend as well.”