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Alysha Corrigan scored two tries in a dominant first half and Canada routed Australia 46-5 in Women’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal action Saturday in Bristol, England.
Asia Hogan-Rochester opened the scoring with a try in the second minute, capping a break from Julia Schell, and the second-ranked Canadians dominated No. 7 Australia on both sides of the ball from there.
Sophie de Goede and McKinley Hunt, with a powerful touchdown after a rolling maul, scored the other first-half tries.
De Goede also kicked four conversions to give her a tournament-leading 17 and was named player of the match with a game-high 13 points.
“We’re just rolling,” de Goede said, “We’ve checked off every job we’ve wanted to do so far, and this is another ticked box.
“Real credit to Australia, it was a tough game. You could’ve given the Player of the Match to so many players out there, and to the impact subs that finished the game incredibly. That’s what makes us a great team, it’s our versatility and adaptability.”
Fabiola Forteza and Karen Paquin, with Canada continuing to press late in the game, scored second-half tries and captain Alex Tessier added a penalty kick.
Canada took a 31-5 lead into the half after dominating the first 40 minutes. The Canadians had the bulk of possession and, outside allowing a try to Desiree Miller in the seventh minute, shut down any rare Australian foray into their zone.
“We looked right away from the get-go to impose our tempo, and I think we managed to do that very well in the first half,” Tessier said. “We managed to put up a lot of points early, and it was a good start for us. We’re proud of what we’ve done today, but now it’s about switching our mindset to the semifinal. It’s a quick turnaround, so we’ll recover, reassess, and get ready for Friday.”
Australia, playing with pride, slowed down Canada’s attack in a rainy second half. But the Wallaroos didn’t stop it.
Forteza scored 19 minutes into the half from a stolen throw-in by de Goede. The Canadians didn’t score another try until near time but it was worth waiting for: 38-year-old high school coach Paquin crashed through the line from 40 metres out and glided to the line.
The margin of victory could have been wider, but Canada had two tries called back.
“I would say the first half was the best we’ve played at this World Cup,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said. “Not a lot of mistakes, a lot of success in the way we want to play the game. I’m very happy for the girls. We are confident heading into the semifinal. It’s going to be a tight game for sure, but we hope to win.”
Canada advanced to the final four for the sixth time and will face No. 3 New Zealand, the six-time and defending champion, in the semifinals on Friday. The Black Ferns advanced with a 46-17 win over South Africa on Saturday.
Corrigan and Hunt have four tries each at the tournament. Canada’s leader is Julia Schell, who scored all six of her tries in a 65-7 win over Fiji to open the tournament.
Schell had one of the two Canadian tries that was disallowed on Saturday.
