The recent history between these two is colourful, but the team in white emerge from the latest instalment with as decisive a victory as any. After the men had dispatched Argentina, England’s women romped to a seven-try win over the team they beat in the World Cup final two years ago but who smashed them a few months ago.
England welcomed their Olympians back for this one – Canada beat Great Britain to the bronze in Rio – and the extra running power proved too much for a team playing their third match in eight days. The jewel in England’s crown was a brilliant solo try by Danielle Waterman on the stroke of half-time, but her performance merely set the template for a home team who took handsome advantage of Canada’s tiring legs.
Women’s rugby is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, and why wouldn’t it be when played at this sort of pace. Kicking is not quite the weapon it is in the men’s game – although when Emily Scarratt catches one it flies well enough – so handling and running are given greater emphasis. Which is a perfectly sensible policy if you have runners like Waterman in your team.
England’s full-back was one of a few to cut through the defence at will in the first half, but her efforts reached a pitch with that wonder try a couple of minutes before the break. A couple of long passes on England’s 22 gave her a chance to skin Alexandra Tessier on the outside, which she took. Four more defenders presented themselves, whom she beat with a variety of footwork devices, the last of which was sheer pace, enough to beat Canada’s covering winger to the corner.
It was quite the tour de force but England had already notched two tries by then. Their runners were generally finding more joy than Canada’s. Scarratt, Rachel Burford and Alex Matthews each had their moments in that first half.
Canada messed up the kick-off, which precipitated a sustained series of attacks on their line. Any one of them might have resulted in the game’s first try. As it was, Matthews, fittingly, was the one to claim it, sent to the line by a smart inside ball from the lock Harriet Millar-Mills.
A good old-fashioned lineout and drive – and pretty devastating it was too – yielded Amy Cokayne England’s second midway through the first half. Scarratt could not convert any of England’s three first-half tries, but none was easy. Canada’s inside centre, Andrea Burk, on the other hand, landed two penalties in the same period of a rather easier tariff to keep Canada in the hunt at the break.
But the visitors were manifestly off their game, their explorations of England’s defence all too often foundering on a spilt ball or a misplaced pass. Another of those – this one a between-the-legs effort by Tessier – resulted in England’s fourth just after the break. Emily Scott was on to it, and well-timed passes from England’s centres had Kay Wilson streaking clear.
England now cut loose. Scarratt set Lydia Thompson from England’s 22 and was on hand to take the improvised return ball for England’s fifth. She had ceded the kicking duties to Scott, who stretched England’s lead to 27-6. Canada were visibly exhausted and England brought on Marlie Packer just to make it hurt a bit more for the visitors.
In women’s rugby, the forwards are almost as much a running threat as the men.
Punishing runs by Packer and Millar-Mills were the key interventions for tries six and seven, scored by Thompson and Claire Allan. It had turned into an exhibition.
Having just ceded second spot in the world rankings to Canada, the Red Roses, as they like to be called now, tuck themselves back in behind New Zealand in some style.
