ANALYSIS – The Rugby Canada 15’s women players did something they have never done before and that was to defeat New Zealand aka the Black Ferns. That is a big deal as before that game, Rugby Canada had never defeated New Zealand. They have also found success with other top national teams such as France in the WXV 1 competition.
Note: To end 2024, Rugby Canada are ranked second in the world in women’s rugby union according to World Rugby.
Rugby Canada 15s Women 2024: An Unforgettable Year
Strengths
Defence Played a Big Role in Pacific Four Series Title Win
Rugby Canada allowed only 40 points in the three games in the Pacific Four Series. That is the lowest number of points allowed by any of the 2024 Pacific Four Series teams, including New Zealand. This is what Rugby Canada head coach, Kévin Rouet, said about the improvement on the defensive end for Canada (Source: Rugby Canada):
“Defensively at the end, it was very important for the team. We were in control until the end, so it was good to see that. It was a very good collective performance for sure,” said Rouet. “They stayed together, they did long, long, long phases of defence. They didn’t break. The mindset was good because sometimes against these teams, you can break and not have a good mindset, that they were believing until the end that they were going to win the game, and they showed it.”
Canada gave up only five points in the second half against New Zealand (known as the Black Ferns) and won a thriller with a 22-19 win over New Zealand.
Different Players Stepped Up Big All Year for Rugby Canada
READ MORE: Rugby Canada’s Speed and Lineout Were Elite
In that game against the Black Ferns, Fancy Bermudez stepped up once again, scoring two of Canada’s three tries along with McKinley Hunt. However, when one looks at other games, there were tries scored by other players such as Sara Cline against Australia and Claire Gallagher and Julia Omokhuale against Ireland. This seemed to be the theme of the team all year long as they had five different try scorers against France and six different try scorers against the U.S. Also, in that France game, Asia Hogan-Rochester scored her first-ever try for the 15’s national team late against France.
Playing Well and Competitively Against the Top Sides of the World
After the lopsided loss to France in the 2023 Rugby Women’s World Cup, there was doubt that Canada can compete with top nations such as England, France, and New Zealand. They have since defeated France twice and as mentioned above, won against New Zealand. This was clearly evident in their dominant win over France, where the Canadians never trailed (Source: Gemma Karstens-Smith of The Canadian Press):
“I think it was one of our best collective efforts,” said right wing Fancy Bermudez, who contributed a pair of tries. “We knew we could go into that game and win and it felt like we had confidence going into that game. Coming out with a win like that is huge for us, and a huge way to start the World Cup campaign.”
Playing At Home
Canada has played a lot more games at home since 2022. This writer asked Sophie de Goede about that, and she said this:
“Well, I mean, our country is so big geographically, so I think it’s really important for us to be able to kind of spread it around and get to play in many parts of the country. And prior to our game against Italy in Langford and in the summer, leading into the last world that we had, and had a home test in, I think, eight years.”
Since 2022, Canada has played seven games at home, including three games in British Columbia in total at the 2024 WXV 1 competition in Vancouver (BC Place) and the township of Langley (Langley Events Centre), as well as in Ottawa for the 2024 Pacific Nations Series. They have also played friendlies in Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as Langford (Greater Victoria), British Columbia.
Before 2022, the last homes games Canada had was in the 2015 Women’s Rugby Super Series, where Canada played in Calgary and Edmonton. De Goede talked about the important of these games in Canada:
“We’ve really, kind of been able to start spanning the country more. And for me personally, it’s really neat to be able to connect with different aspects or different parts of the country, and also just, I think, for the team, for each of the world to kind of start to reconnect with their communities and rugby communities.”
Canada will now look to take that positive energy into 2025, as they only lost one game in total in 2024.
Weaknesses
Failed to Take Advantage Against England and Ireland
READ MORE: England Rugby Earned WXV 1 Title With Win Over Rugby Canada
There was a moment to take an opportunity to get more points against Ireland with a bonus point. Also, against England, there was a golden opportunity to win the game in the second half. The England game is probably the most unfortunate, as Canada was a woman-up at one point in the second half for twenty minutes, during that period pf time, Canada was not able to do much, as both teams scored seven points during that timeframe. That played a big reason why Canada lost the game at home in BC Place as they also committed some costly turnovers late in the game.
There was also the game against Ireland. For the entirety of the second half, Canada was unable to score one try. If Canada was able to score that try, they would have finished second instead of third in the WXV 1 table. Turnovers seemed to be the big reason why Canada was not able to generate much offence, just like with most of the second half against England.
Rugby Canada Player of the Year: Alex Tessier
READ MORE: Kévin Rouet: The Women’s 15’s Rugby Canada Head Coach
Alex Tessier was the fourth-ever Rugby Canada player to be nominated for the World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year. The first time a Canadian player was nominated for this award was in 2014. In that year, Kelly Russell was a nominee while Magali Harvey was the IRB Women’s Player of the Year. There was also De Goede, who was nominated for the award in 2022. From game to game, she is able to deliver at the highest level for Canada as she almost scored two tries against England and also assisted in Fancy Bermudez’s try against France. This is what the Rugby Canada head coach, Kévin Rouet, said about Tessier (Source: Rugby Canada):
“I have known Alex for a very long time,” said Kévin Rouet, Head Coach of Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team. “She has always been an amazing rugby player and has always had the talent to be one of the best rugby players in the world. She has recently fully committed herself to rugby and now the world gets to see her showcase her talent on the pitch. She is a complete and very smart rugby player. Our staff and players are very proud of her nomination.”
It is important to note that when De Goede was injured in the WXV 1 tournament, Tessier had to take over the kicking duties for Canada and she did a fantastic job on that front.
Game of the Year: The Win Against New Zealand
There is no game that was more memorable than the win against the Black Ferns. It was the first-ever victory for Canada against New Zealand. Yes, they won the inaugural Pacific Four Series title, but the tournament only consisted of Canada and the U.S. This was more meaningful, especially when considering that New Zealand were the defending Pacific Four Series champions.
This is how De Goede described what the win against the Black Ferns meant for the Canadian women’s national team (Source: World Rugby):
“You see out there what it means to this team,” she said. “We’ve been knocking on the door and pushing to make a statement on the world stage for Canada for a while now. And I’m just so proud we were able to do it on the occasion of Tyson’s [Beukeboom’s Canadian record-breaking] 68th cap.” De Goede said. “Defensively, the stand before half-time, where we kept them out was a really big moment for us,” she said. “I’m really proud of the work we did around the breakdown.”
Tyson Beukeboom is one of the leaders of the national team and is well-respected by all of her Rugby Canada teammates
Looking Forward to 2025 and 2024 Grade
Grade: A++
For 2024, if Canada was able to beat England, they would have gotten an S, however, the win against New Zealand is big enough that Canada should have an A++. Before the game against England, they did win all their games and showed why they are one of the top teams in the world.
The teams for the 2025 Rugby Women’s World Cup were revealed. Canada will be in a group with Fiji, Wales, and Scotland. The first game will be shown at the York Community Stadium in York, England against Fiji, before facing Wales at the Salford Community Stadium in Salford, England. Their last game will be against Scotland at the Sandy Park in Exeter, England.
All games will take place on Saturday, the game against Fiji will take place at 11:30AM EST (5:30PM BST, August 23), and the games against both Scotland and Wales will take place at 6:00AM EST (12:00PM BST). The Scotland game will be on August 30 and the Wales game will be on September 6.
Also, a few months earlier, Canada will participate in the 2025 Pacific Four Series competition. There, the first game will be against the U.S., which will happen at the latest in May. They will then travel for two games in the Oceania region. The first game will be in Christchurch against New Zealand on May 17, before travelling to Australia on May 23 in Brisbane, Australia.
It is also important to note that Canada will be playing in the 2025 Pacific Four Series next year as they look to defend their title. As for the WXV 1 competition, it will not take place because of the 2025 Rugby Women’s World Cup that is taking place next year.
Photo Credit: Rugby Canada on May 19, 2024.
