Pacific Four Series title up for grabs as Canada women wrap up tournament play
Canada takes on Australia in its Pacific Four Series rugby finale Friday at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, knowing a bonus-point win may not be enough to retain its title.
The second-ranked Canadian women (1-0-1) and No. 3 New Zealand (1-0-1) are tied atop the standings with eight points after their 27-27 draw last Saturday in Christchurch. No. 6 Australia (1-1-0, five points) is mathematically still in the title hunt.
New Zealand, which hosts the ninth-ranked United States (0-2-0) on Saturday in North Harbour, goes into weekend play with a tiebreaker edge over Canada – holding a plus-26 points differential compared to plus-12 for Canada.
The Canadians will look to maximize their points return Friday by beating Australia and scoring four tries for a bonus point. They will then have to wait and see what happens in New Zealand.
'This final match versus Australia is once again just another opportunity to test ourselves against a top team in the world,' Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. 'There was some disappointment amongst the team after the draw against New Zealand last week but we know if we fix some of the details in our game that we can come back with a strong performance against Australia. It is a short week to prepare but I am confident in our group.'
Rouet makes changes in the forwards with front-rowers McKinley Hunt and Gillian Boag slotting in and veteran Tyson Beukeboom in the second row in place of Laetitia Royer, who shifts to blindside flanker with Fabiola Forteza moving to No. 8 in place of Gabrielle Senft.
Olivia Apps starts at scrum half and Krissy Scurfield comes in for Asia Hogan-Rochester on the wing.
Both Senft and Hogan-Rochester were injured against New Zealand. Captain Alex Tessier had to leave when she failed a head injury assessment during the game but the influential centre has been cleared to play Friday.
Canada opened tournament play with a 26-14 win over the U.S. on May 2 in Kansas City. Australia lost its opener 38-12 to New Zealand in Newcastle, Australia, before bouncing back to beat the U.S. 27-19 in Canberra.
Australia coach Jo Yapp has made five changes to the Wallaroos starting lineup with sevens star Charlotte Caslick slotting into inside centre. There is a new front row and six of the eight replacements are forwards.
'Canada is a strong side that will provide a physical challenge for us on Friday,' said Yapp.
Canada won last year's Pacific Four Series with its first-ever victory over New Zealand, defeating the Black Ferns 22-19 in Christchurch.
The Canadian women had lost all 17 meetings with the Black Ferns before that, with 10 of those defeats by 27 points or more. New Zealand had outscored Canada 718-176 before last Saturday's game.
The Pacific Four Series marks the Canadian women's first time together this year ahead of the World Cup, which runs Aug. 22 to Sept. 27 in England. Canada has been drawn in Pool B with No. 7 Scotland, No. 10 Wales and No. 16 Fiji.
Canada also won the inaugural Pacific Four Series in 2021, when the event consisted of a two-game series with the U.S. due to COVID travel restrictions. The Canadians finished runner-up to New Zealand in 2022 and 2023 when the competition was expanded to four teams.
Canada has an 11-5-1 record since losing 36-0 to France in the third-place game at the World Cup in November, 2022. Four of those losses were to England, with the other to New Zealand.
In other tournament news, U.S. sevens star Alev Kelter has been banned for three matches after being sent off in the loss to Australia for violent conduct – stamping on the head of the Australian player on the ground.
'There was contact with the head by the player's boot,' an independent disciplinary committee ruled. 'The player repeatedly stamped her foot and deliberately so but the Committee accepted the player's evidence that she did not intend to contact the head.
'On careful review of the footage, and considering the player's evidence and submission, the Committee found that the player was not deliberately targeting the head of the Australian player, but rather was reckless in her actions (as she accepted).'
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