Canada powers past Scotland to finish perfect pool stage

Old fashioned forward power was the difference as Canada muscled their way past Scotland 40-19 in Exeter on Saturday. The Scots were still in the game until midway through the second half when Canada pulled away. It caps a perfect pool stage for the Maple Leafs, and puts them in the best possible position heading into next week’s knockout stage.

Remarkably five of Canada’s tries were scored by front row forwards, with the sixth a penalty try from a collapsed scrum. McKinley Hunt bashed over from close range to open the scoring, but Scotland had a reply from Rhona Lloyd on the end of an overlap to stay in the race.

Two tries in a span of three minutes pushed the Maple Leafs out in front by 14 points before halftime. The first came from the scrum, which was on the verge of a pushover when the Scottish pack folded. Seven points went up on the board as the referee went under the posts. Almost immediately Canada were in again when Emily Tuttosi charged onto an offload from Sophie de Goede.

A superb breakaway score from Scottish No8 Evie Gallagher gave her side some hope, but two more tries from the Canadian pack put the game beyond reach. Tuttosi grabbed a double, busting through a tackle on the edge of a ruck, and then Brittany Kassil was driven in under the sticks. Francesca McGhie swerved through a gap for a consolation effort but the final say appropriately went to replacement prop Olivia DeMerchant with the extras from Alex Tessier making it an even 40.

Both teams had already booked their spot in the Quarter Finals. Canada will now face Australia at Bristol’s Ashton Gate on Saturday. Scotland face the daunting task of upsetting tournament hosts and favorites England at the same venue on Sunday.

SCORING

CANADA 40
Tries (6) – M. Hunt (11′), Penalty try (31′), E. Tuttosi 2 (34′, 57′), B. Kassil (64′), O. DeMerchant (78′)
Cons (5) – S. de Goede 3/4 (12′, 58′, 65′), No kick (31′), A. Tessier 1/1 (79′)

SCOTLAND 19
Tries (3) – R. Lloyd (22′), E. Gallagher (51′), F. McGhie (74′)
Cons (2) – L. Thomson 0/1, H. Nelson 2/2 (52′, 75′)
YC (1) – E. Gallagher (31′)

TEAMS

CANADA
1 McKinley Hunt (17 Brittany Kassil 46′), 2 Emily Tuttosi (16 Gillian Boag 62′), 3 DaLeaka Menin (18 Olivia DeMerchant 69′), 4 Sophie de Goede (21 Caroline Crossley 72′), 5 Tyson Beukeboom (19 Laetitia Royer 62′), 6 Fabiola Forteza, 7 Karen Paquin, 8 Gabrielle Senft (20 Courtney O’Donnell 46′), 9 Justine Pelletier (22 Olivia Apps 55′), 10 Taylor Perry, 11 Asia Hogan-Rochester, 12 Alex Tessier (capt.), 13 Florence Symonds (23 Shoshanah Seumanutafa 65′), 14 Paige Farries, 15 Julia Schell

SCOTLAND
1 Leah Bartlett (17 Anne Young 65′), 2 Lana Skeldon (16 Elis Martin 52′), 3 Lisa Cockburn (18 Molly Poolman 24′), 4 Emma Wassell (20 Eva Donaldson 67′), 5 Sarah Bonar (19 Jade Konkel 58′), 6 Rachel Malcolm (capt.), 7 Rachel McLachlan (21 Alex Stewart 58′), 8 Evie Gallagher, 9 Leia Brebner-Holden (22 Caity Mattinson 58′), 10 Helen Nelson (23 Evie Wills 19′-27′), 11 Francesca McGhie, 12 Lisa Thomson (23 Evie Wills 72′), 13 Emma Orr, 14 Rhona Lloyd, 15 Chloe Rollie

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, September 6
Venue: Sandy Park, Exeter
Kickoff: 12:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 66°F (19°C), wind SE 16-25mph (27-40km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Assistants: Ella Goldsmith (Australia) & Maria Heitor (Portugal)
TMO: Rachel Horton (England)

HIGHLIGHTS