Canada wins four Pacific Championship series after historic first victory over New Zealand — Rugby Canada

May 19, 2024 (Christchurch, New Zealand) – For the first time ever, the Canadian women's rugby team defeated the Black Ferns to win the 2024 Pacific Four Series Championship, with a 22-19 victory over the defending Pacific Four Series champions and the women's rugby team. Rugby World Cup. With this win, Canada rises to second place in the women's world rankings, returning to its best ranking since November 2016.

In a match steeped in history, Tyson Beukeboom officially reached 68 caps at the start of the match, becoming the most capped player in Canadian women's rugby history.

“I don't know how to express it yet. I haven't realized yet. We hit a lot of milestones tonight,” Pukeboom said. “We knew we could do it. We just had to go out and take control of the game, and that's what we did. I think that's the word that describes The situation is better at the moment. It was a pleasure to be on the field this evening.

Beukeboom got to work immediately, with New Zealand forced to start the game defensively. Sophie De Guidi gave Canada a 3-0 lead with a penalty kick in the seventh minute, but the Black Ferns responded quickly, and Katelyn Vahakulu scored in the 7th and 21st minutes to give New Zealand a 14-3 lead.

Fancy Bermudez started Canada's comeback by scoring her first try of the game from the opening stages. De Goede's conversion cut the deficit to 14-10, and the Canadiens finished the first half with a strong defensive performance.

“We've been talking about calm and composure all week,” De Goede said. We knew we were putting a lot of pressure on their defence, so it was essential for us to maintain the defensive effort. I think it was very important for us to prevent them from scoring before half-time. »

Just four minutes into the second half, McKinley Hunt gave Canada a 15-14 lead, and Bermudez scored her second try as the New Zealanders remained numerically superior after receiving a yellow card. De Goede converted Bermudez's try to give Canada an eight-point lead over the Black Ferns.

Canada appeared to expand the lead thanks to Paige Farris, who broke through New Zealand's defense before passing the ball after contact with Alexandra Tessier, who shot it between the goalposts, but the attempt was disallowed due to an obstruction earlier in the action.

“At the end of the game, defense was very important for the team. We controlled the game until the end, it was good to see that. The team performance was very good. They stayed together, played very long defensive phases,” said Kevin Rowett, the team’s coach. They fall apart. elles l'showed.

The Canadian defense was tough, holding off a 35-phase attack from New Zealand. Olivia Apps received a yellow card with 10 minutes remaining, but the Canadians wouldn't stop their efforts, preventing New Zealand from scoring a try. The Black Ferns were able to find a hole in the Canadian defense in the 72nd minute, but the Canadians maintained their 22-19 lead until the final whistle to achieve a historic victory.

“I don't think we've achieved what we've just done, but it's really special to achieve something historic, for the first time,” De Guidi said. I think today we did a good job of not thinking too much about what story we could create, but just thinking about the present moment and the next action. I'm very proud of the way we continued to recover from each game and find a way to win the game. »

For more information about the Pacific Four Series, including all scores and results, please visit the official website at World.rugby/tournaments/pacific-four-series.

The Canadian women's rugby team will return to the field this fall for the WXV 1 tournament, with matches taking place in British Columbia in September and October. WXV 1 schedule, locations, ticket details and broadcast information will be announced soon. More information is available, including the latest news from WXV here.