Host nation Canada dominates France 46-24 to open the WXV 1 tournament

VANCOUVER – The Canadian women’s rugby team has its eyes firmly on the future, even as it gets the rare opportunity to compete on home soil.

The team opened the WXV 1 tournament in Vancouver on Sunday with a dominant 46-24 victory over France – a result that captain Tyson Beukeboom believes is a good first step towards the team’s ultimate goal.

“Our goal is to win the World Cup, and that starts now,” she said. “But not everything will go perfectly now. It would be great if so. But we are here to build. We are here to get better and be prepared when we reach that World Cup final.”

World number 3 Canadians quickly established themselves against fourth-ranked France, with Paige Farries scoring the first try of the afternoon in the fourth minute.

France replied minutes later, but the home side showed resilience and continually fought back to regain the lead. Canada never trailed in the game.

“I think it was one of our best collective efforts,” said right-wing Fancy Bermudez, who made a few attempts. “We knew we could go into that game and win and we felt like we had confidence going into that game. It’s hugely important for us to come away with a win like this and a great way to start the World Cup campaign.”

Laetitia Royer also scored two tries for Canada, while Emily Tuttosi and Asia Hogan-Rochester added one each. Alex Tessier started four conversions and a penalty.

France had tries from Melissande Llorens, Marine Menager, Pauline Bourdon and Nassira Konde, and two conversions from Chloe Jacquet.

The visiting team did not show what they were capable of, especially in defense, according to captain Manae Feleu.

“We didn’t start the match thinking it was going to be easy. We knew it was going to be difficult,” she said. “I think it’s more about us. And we have to reflect on that and our performance.”

Canada took a 24-14 cushion into the locker room, but France began to close the gap in the 47th minute.

Bourdon slipped through the Canadian line and charged in to hit before Bermudez could take her down with a flying tackle. The try cut the lead to 24-19.

“We can never underestimate a team like France. And we knew they wanted blood from the last WXV when we beat them,” said Bermudez, a member of the Canadian women’s sevens team that won silver at the Paris Olympics in July.

“We just knew we had to stick to our game plan, stick to what we do best, and if they score one, then we know we have to get two. And I think we did a good job of maintaining our lead to preserve.” head in the game.”

The home side replied from a scrum five minutes later. Justine Pelletier got the ball, but was brought down just before the goal line. Royer came up with it and put it in for Canada’s fifth try of the day. Two points from Tessier made it 31-19 for the Canadians, who further extended their lead.

“I think our hope was to come out strong and set a fast game and play in space, and play in the space we were given, whether that was close to the ruck, far to the ruck , behind them,” said Beukeboom. “And I’m just proud that we were able to do that.”

Earlier on Sunday, No. 1 England defeated eighth-ranked America 61-21 in the first match of the tournament.

In the final match of the day, number 7 Ireland upset second-placed New Zealand 29-27 thanks to Erin King’s try in the 79th minute.

The tournament shifts to Langley, B.C., next weekend, where Canada will take on Ireland on Saturday after a matchup between the U.S. and France. New Zealand will take on England on Sunday.

The game returns to Vancouver on October 11, where the Americans will take on the Irish. The tournament concludes on October 12 with New Zealand playing France and Canada playing England.

Now in its second year, the WXV is a three-tiered tournament with top division teams drawn from the top three players in the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand and the United States) and the Women’s Six Nations Championship (England, England). France and Ireland).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2024.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press