Canadian women earn memorable win at TD Place Stadium

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Rugby Canada lock player, Tyson Beukeboom as the Canadian women earn memorable win

The Canadian women earn a memorable win at TD Place Stadium against the Wallaroos. It was a convincing win, with the defence playing a big deal in Canada’s win over Australia.

Canadian women earn memorable win with a fantastic performance in Ottawa

Full game summary

Tyson Beukeboom and Sarah-Maude Lachance Had Memorable Games on Friday

Two players who did not get their fair due are Beukeboom and Lachance. Both players really played well in Friday’s game. Beukeboom in particular was fantastic for Canada, scoring three tries in the impressive 45-7 win over Australia.

  • In all the tries Beukeboom put herself in good positions to score the try. Huge credit should be given to Gabrielle Senft on Beukeboom’s third try as she was able to find and pass the ball to Beukeboom for her third try of the game.
  • Lachance also played very well, scoring the first try of her national team career and making some big tackles defensively for Canada.

There were many other players that played exceptionally well, including one that will be talked about later. However, these two players deserve credit for the performance they put out on Friday against Australia. This is what Beukeboom said after her scoring a hat-trick try in her 60th appearance as a Canadian.

“It’s everything. It’s such an honor to be able to put this jersey on in the first place almost 60 times and be able to do in front of the crowd and score three drives, which I’ve never done and probably won’t ever do it again.”

The Canadian women’s defence was strong against the Wallaroos

Canada really put in a fantastic and gritty effort against Australia on Friday. Their solid defence forced Australia to make some uncharacteristic turnovers and mistakes.

  • The most glaring one was Bella McKenzie kicking the ball deep into her team’s end. This resulted in Beukeboom scoring her hat-trick try.
  • Australia turned over the ball as they could not release the ball, allowing Canada to earn possession.
  • Canada pushed the Australians deep in their field with their fantastic tackling in the 61-minute.

These were just two of the many examples where Canada dominated defensively and only allowed Australia the one try that they scored in the first half. After a shaky start, Canada looked compact defensively and did not allow the Wallaroos any wiggle room to score tries.

The Wallaroos made too many turnovers/mistakes

Yes, Canada put a lot of pressure on Australia. However, they were also some uncharacteristic mistakes the Australians made. In the second half, for example, they looked less comfortable with the ball and threw some errand passes that resulted in turnovers. Examples include:

  • Bree-Anna Cheatham dropped the ball in the 56-minute.
  • A turnover with a throw-in with the lineout by Australia’s McKenzie.

Fortunately, on the second play with the lineout, Canada turned the ball straight after. However, a lot of those mistakes Canada capitalized on and Australia just looked tired in the latter part of the game because of Canada’s relentless defence and tackles.

Other factors: Sophie de Goede and the Canadian women’s scrums

This has been said before by this writer, but de Goede gets a lot of props for her fantastic play. She did well with her kicks, converting five of her seven kicks. What can also be said was the scrums, which Australia had trouble dealing with.

  • The try that led to Lachane’s try started with Canada pushing Australia back because of their scrum. Sophie de Goede then started that play, which resulted in a series of passes and resulted in Lachane’s try.
  • There was another instance where Canada forced Australia deep into their end as Australia had trouble dealing with Canada’s pressure.

READ MORE: Sophie de Goede: Player profile of Rugby Canada’s captain

It is also important to note that de Goede also scored two tries in the game and might have been the second-best player for Canada in the game.

This is not to say everything was perfect. Canada turned over the ball a bit to start the game and Australia was able to get a try scored by McKenzie to tie the game at 7-7 a piece at the time. However, in the end, it was Canada who ended up victorious in Canada’s capital. This game also marks the second-straight time the Canadians have defeated the Australians in the Pacific Four Series. Also, Claire Gallagher scored a beautiful try, where she noticed the lax defence of Australia and scored a fantastic individual try in the second half.

What the win for the Black Ferns means for the Canadian women and the Wallaroos

New Zealand won the Pacific Four Series for the second time in a row. They got a scare with the U.S., as they trailed after the end of the first half. However, New Zealand was able to recover and dominate the second half with a come-from-behind victory. The Black Ferns win also means that Canada and Australia would be in the inaugural WVX1 competition. The top three teams of the Pacific Four Series will play in the WVX1 competition in New Zealand, which will also have the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations Championship. The three that made it from the Women’s Six Nations Championship competition are England, France, and Wales. That tournament will take place in October/November.

Should Ottawa be the permanent home for the Rugby Canada women’s national team?

This is a question that might need an answer. The biggest crowd in a Canadian women’s rugby union game was in the game against New Zealand where over 10,000 fans came over for the game. The game against Australia also had a solid crowd in the game. It is a question that might annoy people outside of the nation’s capital, but Ottawa has proven itself that it can support high-quality rugby union and it is sure something that the Rugby Canada organization has noticed. Maybe it can also lead itself to Ottawa supporting a professional/major rugby league and/or rugby league team one day.

 

Photo Credit: Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photography of Rugby Canada’s Facebook Page on July 14, 2023.

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