Wallaroos take lessons from past defeat to Canada into quarter-final

Canada coach Kevin Rouet explained at a press conference this week that the Wallaroos aren’t “the same team that we played five months ago.” Australia were beaten 45-7 at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, but they’ve taken the lessons and grown in confidence since.

While the Wallaroos are winless in their all-time head-to-head record against Canada, the Aussies are looking to progress past the quarter-final stage at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, and you could see how motivated they are at their captain’s run on Friday.

Australia played seven Tests before making the long haul trip to Manchester, where they started their World Cup campaign with a record 73-0 win over Samoa. The Wallaroos drew with the USA 31-all the following week, and led England until the 31^st minute in Brighton.

Bok Women captain Nolusindiso Booi on last RWC

Bok Women captain Nolusindiso Booi on last RWC

Four months on from a one-sided defeat in the Pacific Four Series, the Wallaroos are embracing the opportunity to play in a quarter-final. Assistant coach Chris Delooze made that clear at Ashton Gate, saying the Wallaroos are focused on doing “our own job first.”

“That game actually taught us a few things because if we look back then, that was game four in that time and it’s also game four [in the World Cup] right now,” Delooze said when reflecting on the last meeting with Canada.

“There was a lot of lessons taken from that in our approach and obviously the build-up… it’s an exciting week because we actually get… a chance to put what we didn’t do so well that day into practice.

“We’ve been working really hard on a lot of things on both sides of the ball, knowing that potentially this was going to be our game.

“Hopefully we get a few things right but momentum is going to be a big one. We need to make sure we control that in the second half.”

Tickets are still available for the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-finals and can be purchased HERE.

Adiana Talakai scored the opener last weekend at Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium, as Jo Yapp’s Wallaroos took a shock lead over the Red Roses. While England struck back soon after through Jess Breach, a wayward conversion meant the Australians remained in the lead.

Australia held onto a slight advantage on the scoreboard for a majority of the first half, before the tournament hosts took control, eventually running away with a comprehensive victory ahead of the knockout phase of the competition.

Coach Yapp has made a couple of significant changes following that result, with the two most-capped players in Wallaroos history shifting to the bench. Ashley Marsters and Trilleen Pomare will both look to make a difference off the pine at Bristol’s Ashton Gate.

Piper Duck forms a loose forwards trio with Emily Chancellor and captain Siokapesi Palu. As for the locks, Yapp has turned to the ever-reliable second row duo of Kaitlan Leaney and Michaela Leonard ahead of what is expected to be a fierce set-piece battle.

“Set pieces are a huge strength of the Canadians, they’ve got this really big, physical and athletic pack,” Leonard told reporters.

“We’ve seen that they like to use them in attack and they’re quite effective at it as well. But reflecting on our journey, we have come a huge way and we showed last week that the set piece is becoming a strength of ours as well.”