Canada 0 England 22
The final match of the 2009 Nations Cup was an 80 minute Tide commercial.
The weather treated England to a taste of home as they beat Canada 22-0 in the last game of the 10 day tournament.
England was eager to annul Wednesday’s performance against South Africa and successfully played to the elements, keeping the ball tight and using kicks effectively for territory.
Following a series of scrums, England eventually crossed for their first try in the left corner of the pitch where they found success another two times.
The greasy conditions forced both squads to play a forwards’ game, though the majority of England’s tries were finished by the backs.
Canada held strong in the scrums defensively as England maintained most of the possession, directed well by veteran 10.
Canada’s defence held strong and was able to force England to score in the corners. Captain Leslie Cripps anchored the front row and the team, leading by example as England crossed another two times in the first half to lead 15-0.
England’s pack and Katy Maclean's right foot was the engine of their yardage gain as the kicks consistently found touch, effectively eliminating fullback Ashley Patzer from any sort offensive counterattack.
Canada’s tackle count was ample as they consistently forced England to earn most of their ground a metre at a time. A strong point all week, their backrow continued to impress with a solid work rate and excellent work at the breakdown.
An injury to Canada’s Maria Gallo saw Brittany Waters, normally comfortable in the back three, make her second half international debut in the centres.
A cruel irony saw the skies dry up as the two teams shook hands. The rain really played a starring role in the game, wiping out any offensive flair game plans for either squad.
Canada finishes the tournament with 1-3 win-loss record, falling narrowly to France and the USA. The NSWT has a lot of positives to take from the 3 international tests and will be able to turn their losses into lessons in time for the November tour to France.
Canada prop Marlene Donaldson says the amount of the work the forwards put in today was remarkable.
“Kris [de Scossa] has been building an environment for the forwards where we believe in our ability to be one of the best packs in the world and we really showed genuine glimpses of that all tournament. Today especially, by never letting England come up the middle, I was really proud of the forwards. We have amazing depth in that we can put any combination of players on the field and still feel equally confident.”
Assistant and forward coach de Scossa echoed Donaldson’s sentiments and said he is really proud of the work the pack did up front all week.
“Without a doubt the key to building success is building a forward culture and taking responsibility for our performance. We are an inclusive not exclusive group so if players have a desire and passion to play, we will show them a pathway to success.
“This tournament has been a great foundation and stepping block to the pathways where we can be world class performers.”
de Scossa refuted the notion of pointing any player out and insisted on crediting the entire group for their hard work.
“It’s difficult to pinpoint one or two players, so it’s difficult to single out. It’s been great to see our more experienced players take this challenge head on. The exciting new players who have come in and seamlessly stepped into the team have shortly gained the international experience and now the know how hard we have to work to beat England and beat the world champions.
“This was the first step. Our development program to France and throughout the winter is going to be key and the girls know that.”
USA 15 France 15
Light rain failed to dampen the spirits of the United States and France as they kicked off for the final game of the 2009 Women’s Nations Cup at Fletcher’s Field in Markham, Ontario.
Due to poor weather conditions, neither side was able to complete their conversions as they had to rely on tries for their points. The dying minutes saw both sides gridlocked in the American 22 until a last minute try by France was waved away, leaving the game tied at 15 points apiece.
The game started off with France making waves through a series of quick hands and well-positioned players.
A breakaway run past the American red line gave France’s inside centre Celine Allainmat the first try of the game.
Soft hands by the American backs were intercepted by France several times, as a quick rush by American’s winger Victoria Folayan was stopped short by an offside whistle.
Despite the constant pressure, Les Bleus held steady and managed to push the other team offside by their five metre line.
The Americans scoring opportunities were wasted by knock ons and handling errors as the two sides battled through the sloppy conditions. A well-placed kick gave France some breathing room and a brief respite.
“It was tough at the break downs,” said American Head Coach Kathy Flores. “I think France was really strong [there]. We were a step out of our support so they were being much more physical at the breakdown than we were.”
Though the rain stopped to give the teams a chance to dry off, the Americans benefited the most from the break in play to regroup and find their stride.
Quick hands by the Eagles back line put the ball into Folayan’s hands for another try scoring run, this time out-manoeuvring multiple blue jerseys to go over for five points.
An equally determined France smoothly passed the ball in outside centre Caroline Ladagnous’s hands, but was cut short by a crunching tackle to the ground.
Half time was called as France made a last ditch kick from the 10 metre line for a shot to get ahead but missed the posts, leaving the game at five all.
The heavy rain struck again affecting the game’s flow with both sides struggling to string their passes together.
Recovering first, France charged into American territory as Allainmat put France ahead at 10-5, but the lead was short lived.
Not to be outdone, U.S. returned the favour with swift precision responding with two tries of their own. The first five points came from Lynelle Kugler who ran down the sidelines nearly unopposed, while the second came in similar fashion through the blistering speed of full back Christy Ringgenberg.
France’s Head Coach Christian Gallonnier was pleased with his team’s effort against the Americans afters struggling to find their form earlier in the tournament. “The Americans were organized and aggressive – they [came out] and got three tries.”
Desperate to tie the game, France advanced with quick hands that turned ended with dropped balls late in the game, placing the ball back into the opposition’s possession and into a U.S. led scrum.
From there, much of the game progressed in neutral territory, each team gaining and losing several yards to keep the game at a stand-still.
A break came finally came for the French as they switched the field allowing for hooker Celine Barthelemy to tie the match at 15-15.
As the clock wore out, France looked as though they had emerged victorious but the try was called back after a last second knock on.
The result saw the USA finish in second place and the French in third at the 2009 Women’s Nations Cup
