Latest news with #Morrall
South Wales Argus
5 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Morrall gunning to end France's run with final day victory
The young Red Roses have been on the wrong side of recent results with Les Bleuettes, but have a chance to reverse that on Thursday. They take on France at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, with both sides' unbeaten status on the line. 'It is a really big thing for us this year, we have been on the wrong side of the result a lot in the past few years,' the Loughborough Lightning centre said. 'It would mean a lot to all of us, particularly as a lot of us are second years, so we are not eligible for 20s in the future. 'It is something exciting for us and something we would really really like to finish on a high. It would be awesome for a lot of us to finish that last game and get on the right side of the result and beat the French because it has been a long time coming, so hopefully we can do that. 'France are a very good side, they play some really exciting rugby, and they like to attack a lot, so looking at that, we have some good strategies and plans to hopefully defer that towards us and put us in a positive light. 'It should be a very tough game, but a very exciting game because we are really up for it. Team news 🚨 England U20 Women's head coach LJ Lewis has named her squad to face France on matchday three of the Six Nations Summer Series.#U6NSummerSeries — Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) July 16, 2025 'But we can never put the French aside because we know they are always a strong team, they are always going to put in a big fight against us.' England defeated Scotland to get their campaign up and running in South Wales before coming from behind to beat Italy last time out. Meanwhile, France saw off le Azzurre in their opening encounter, before scoring 24 unanswered second-half points against Ireland to set up a barnstorming finish with the Red Roses. Morrall, who was born and raised in Dubai, was named Player of the Match for England in their fightback against Italy. She praised the team's bond for their comeback from 15-0 down at half-time, something which has been a focal point for the squad this year. The 20-year-old added: 'It has been one of our key focuses in camps, since the first camp, it has been one of the key pillars in our culture. 'Throughout this camp and through previous camps, we have been doing a lot of player bonds, so activities outside of rugby, where we just get together and connect. 'That has definitely grown our connections as a team this year. Everyone is so much closer than we have been in the past. 'There are also a lot of girls from the same club, so that helps with that connection. Everyone knows each other really well. 'But as a whole, it is down to the fact that we spend a lot of time outside of rugby, getting to know each other.' Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
South Wales Argus
11-07-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
David at the double as England down Italy
Millie David's dazzling double helped England produce a stunning fightback to down a spirited Italy 36-20 and claim their second win of the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series. The winger's brace, alongside scores from Zara Green, Carmela Morrall, Sophie Hopkins and Lilly Plowman, saw England over the line in the scorching heat in Caerphilly. Italy held a 15-0 half-time lead thanks to tries from skipper Elena Errichiello, Chiara Cheli and Mihaela Pirpiliu but had no answer to England's ruthless performance during the second 40 minutes. Italy, who made six changes from their defeat to France in their opening fixture, put England under pressure from the outset and made it count when captain Errichiello peeled off the back of a scrum to power over after just three minutes. Two yellow cards made England's job of getting back into proceedings even harder, Morrall the first to go to the bin for contacting an opposition player's head at the breakdown before Keevy Fitzpatrick followed suit on 28 minutes for illegally bringing down a maul. And with England briefly down to 13 players, Cheli touched down after a rolling maul to give Italy a 10-0 lead. Despite David's superb last-ditch tackle on Kristin Kone, England couldn't stop Italy scoring a third try just before half time, Pirpiliu finishing off a glorious move which saw the ball moved quickly through the hands out to the left. Trailing by 15 points, England produced a flying start to the second half, reducing their deficit to just a solitary point within four minutes of the restart. Green was first to cross the whitewash, scoring close to the posts after a period of English pressure, before David raced down the left wing to give England their second try. 43' | MILLIE DAVID IS RAPID! ⚡️ The winger flies away and England are back within a point! 🔥 ITA 15-14 ENG#ITAvENG | #U6NSummerSeries — Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) July 11, 2025 David's second completed the comeback just shy of the hour mark, stepping inside astutely to dot down on the left after being set up by Ella Cromack. Morrall's try stretched England's lead with 10 minutes to go when she burst through from close range, but Moioli's opportunistic score once again made the encounter a one-score game. The result was put beyond doubt late on as Hopkins collected Lia Green's grubber kick to score England's fifth try before Plowman benefitted from a rolling maul to add the icing to the cake. Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
The Herald Scotland
11-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
David at the double as England down Italy
Millie David's dazzling double helped England produce a stunning fightback to down a spirited Italy 36-20 and claim their second win of the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series. The winger's brace, alongside scores from Zara Green, Carmela Morrall, Sophie Hopkins and Lilly Plowman, saw England over the line in the scorching heat in Caerphilly. Italy held a 15-0 half-time lead thanks to tries from skipper Elena Errichiello, Chiara Cheli and Mihaela Pirpiliu but had no answer to England's ruthless performance during the second 40 minutes. Italy, who made six changes from their defeat to France in their opening fixture, put England under pressure from the outset and made it count when captain Errichiello peeled off the back of a scrum to power over after just three minutes. Two yellow cards made England's job of getting back into proceedings even harder, Morrall the first to go to the bin for contacting an opposition player's head at the breakdown before Keevy Fitzpatrick followed suit on 28 minutes for illegally bringing down a maul. And with England briefly down to 13 players, Cheli touched down after a rolling maul to give Italy a 10-0 lead. Despite David's superb last-ditch tackle on Kristin Kone, England couldn't stop Italy scoring a third try just before half time, Pirpiliu finishing off a glorious move which saw the ball moved quickly through the hands out to the left. Trailing by 15 points, England produced a flying start to the second half, reducing their deficit to just a solitary point within four minutes of the restart. Green was first to cross the whitewash, scoring close to the posts after a period of English pressure, before David raced down the left wing to give England their second try. 43' | MILLIE DAVID IS RAPID! ⚡️ The winger flies away and England are back within a point! 🔥 ITA 15-14 ENG#ITAvENG | #U6NSummerSeries — Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) July 11, 2025 David's second completed the comeback just shy of the hour mark, stepping inside astutely to dot down on the left after being set up by Ella Cromack. Morrall's try stretched England's lead with 10 minutes to go when she burst through from close range, but Moioli's opportunistic score once again made the encounter a one-score game. The result was put beyond doubt late on as Hopkins collected Lia Green's grubber kick to score England's fifth try before Plowman benefitted from a rolling maul to add the icing to the cake. Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
CBC
09-04-2025
- CBC
Westboro station had a post-crash safety audit. Then what happened?
Stream the inquest live here. The coroner's inquest into the 2019 OC Transpo bus crash that claimed the lives of three people is all about sparing others the same fate, and as the public deep dive enters its second week, its focus is turning to what changes were made, or not, in the years between that tragedy and today. On Jan. 11, 2019, a packed OC Transpo double-decker slammed into a Transitway bus shelter at the west Ottawa station. Three people — Judy Booth, Bruce Thomlinson and Anja Van Beek — died in the crash. Many others were injured, triggering a flurry of lawsuits. While the city accepted civil responsibility for the crash, the bus driver was charged with 38 counts of dangerous driving causing death or bodily harm. She was acquitted of all of them in a judge-only trial in 2021. On Tuesday and Wednesday, inquest witnesses outlined what issues were found at Westboro station by one safety auditor and then how the city and OC Transpo responded before the station was ultimately taken down in 2022 because of its conversion into an LRT stop. 2 engineers, 2 different opinions After the crash, OC Transpo hired the engineering firm Parsons to do a safety audit and recommend potential changes. Parsons retained another contractor, John Morrall, to do that. When Morrall finished his audit, OC Transpo hired another engineer, Gerry Forbes, to assess Morrall's recommendations from several angles. Those included not just safety but also cost, environmental protection and public input, Forbes said in his own testimony. The most significant issue "by far" at Westboro station was the canopy the bus crashed into, Morall told the inquest. The canopy dated back to a time when OC Transpo was only using single-decker buses and jutted into the Westboro shelter's "clear zone," Morrall testified. The clear zone refers to an area that is free of objects a bus could impact with. Morrall recommended either removing the canopy or reducing the speed limit for buses approaching the station. Forbes instead recommended a third option, putting yellow and black striping on the canopy, writing in his report that removing the canopy was "not a cost-efficient use of OC Transpo resources" and that another crash with the canopy was not "expected" for another 250 years. Forbes also told the inquest the canopy provides protection for people waiting at the station. OC Transpo ultimately put striping on the canopy, only for the entire structure to be taken down in 2022 because of construction work to convert Westboro into a future Line 2 LRT stop. Morrall had suggested lowering the speed limit approaching the station from 50 km/hr — which Morrall told the inquest is not a reasonable speed — to 20 km/hr. Under questioning from Peter Napier, one of the lawyers leading the inquest, Morrall agreed that both striping and reducing the speed limit would only be effective options in scenarios where the bus driver has control of the vehicle, which was not the case in the Westboro crash. Earlier in the inquest, John McLuckie, the lawyer for the union representing OC Transpo employees, suggested it's possible bus operators are "pressured into keeping their schedules and that that might result in speeding." Transport Canada found the bus that crashed at Westboro was travelling between 36 km/hr and 40 km/hr when it struck the canopy. Reducing the approaching speed to 30 km/hr or 40 km/hr would be reasonable, Forbes said. 13 similar canopies At one point on Wednesday, Napier asked Forbes if the severity of the Westboro crash, which also left many people seriously injured, was factored into his report. It wasn't in the section addressing the canopy, Forbes replied, adding that one crash every 250 years is considered low-risk "no matter what the severity of the crash is." "So, in 250 years, we're gonna have another crash like this with another level of severity like this and is that something that is considered acceptable from a risk analysis perspective?" Napier then asked. "It would be considered a low risk," Forbes said. "And you weigh that against the cost of cutting a canopy off a Transitway station?" Napier asked. "Yes," Forbes replied. A City of Ottawa witness has told the inquest 13 other canopies similar to the one at Westboro are still in operation at other Ottawa stations. Morrall also recommended placing a barrier to protect people at the Westboro shelter from buses. Napier asked Forbes about that too. Forbes said he was not convinced a barrier was necessary just based on the Westboro crash alone. "Crashes do have a degree of randomness to them," he said. Eleven other crashes happened at Westboro station in the five years before Forbes' study, though he was not given any specifics about those collisions, he said. The inquest continues Wednesday afternoon.
CBC
20-02-2025
- CBC
Former traditional Cree healer Cecil Wolfe pleads guilty to sexually assaulting 12 women in his care
Warning: this story contains details of sexual assault. A former Cree medicine man and respected elder has admitted he sexually assaulted a dozen female patients with maladies ranging from cancer to depression under the guise of performing traditional healing practices. Cecil Wolfe, 63, pleaded guilty to the 12-count indictment Wednesday before Justice John Morrall at Court of King's Bench in Saskatoon. Prosecutors Lana Morelli and Maria Shupenia, and defence Harvey Neufeld, presented a 23-page agreed statement of facts. The court imposed a 24-hour interim publication ban on the guilty pleas so the victims could be told of the development. Wolfe's judge-alone trial had been scheduled to begin next week. The pleas ended a convoluted court process that began in 2022. Wolfe had pleaded guilty to the allegations in 2022, but at his sentencing hearing in 2023 he successfully applied to have the pleas expunged. Wolfe said at that hearing that he would not have pleaded guilty if he knew the jointly proposed sentence would be nine and a half years. Judge Sanjeev Anand ruled that Wolfe's lawyer did not properly explain the consequences of pleading guilty to the charges. Wolfe had "ineffective assistance of counsel" at his sentencing hearing, Anand said. This week, Wolfe pleaded guilty to effectively the same allegations. Morelli and Neufeld said there would be no joint sentencing submission. Justice Morrall told Wolfe that he would be facing a federal penitentiary sentence. The offences The agreed statement of facts detailed how Wolfe presented himself as an elder with knowledge of traditional healing practices. He had been employed as such by the Saskatoon Tribal Council and the White Buffalo Youth Lodge, in addition to working in various First Nations communities. He would instruct the women to come wearing a skirt and, in some cases, to remove their bras in advance. He would stroke their arms, legs and torsos, quizzing them on drug use and their sexual histories. He would also digitally penetrate them for between one and four minutes, the statement said. "There's something down there and I need to take it out," one victim quoted him as saying before penetrating her. After the assaults, Wolfe would produce trinkets, snakeskins, cat claws and ribbons, all "bad medicine" that he claimed to have extracted from their genitals. The victims described their fears of speaking out against a respected healer and powerful member of the community. Many spoke of how they had sought out Wolfe because they wished to engage in cultural practices. On Wednesday, Justice Morrall went through an hour-long "plea comprehension" hearing, quizzing Wolfe through a Cree interpreter to make sure he completely understood the elements of the offences to which he was pleading guilty and the consequences of entering the guilty pleas. Morrall then accepted the pleas. Wolfe, who remains free on bail, is scheduled to return to court in March for sentencing submissions and to hear the victim impact statements from the women he assaulted.
