On the eve of the Rugby Women’s World Cup semi-finals, Canada are not intimidated by the idea of ​​playing England, who are the tournament’s favorite team and are on a 29-game winning streak.

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In a repeat of the 2014 final that ended with England 9-21, the two rivals will battle it out for a place in the final on Friday night in Auckland, New Zealand.

In the other semi-final, New Zealand meets France. The four teams in the semifinals occupied the top four spots in the world rankings before hostilities began on October 8.

With a perfect run in the group stage, with three wins and a win over the USA in the quarterfinals, the Canadians ensure that they do not suffer from complexes against their opponents, who are ranked first in the world, even in their last win against them goes on the year 2016 back. Canada have a record of three wins, 29 losses and one draw against England.

predictable

“We’re not impressed,” said head coach Kevin Rouet from the start. The English have weaknesses everywhere. Our girls are more athletic and better after contact. The girls are very confident and have nothing to lose. We are preparing and training for this game against England. »

Rouet acknowledges the Red Roses’ undeniable strengths, but considers them highly predictable and advocates the same playstyle regardless of their opponents.

“The English are solid in scrums, touches and kicks,” he said. They think they are the best in the world, but our style of play is difficult for them. Just because they’re predictable and never change style doesn’t mean they’re easy to defend. »

Karen Paquin agrees. “It’s easy to know what they’re going to do,” said the quarterfinals MVP. They are not used to not being able to climb the pitch. Our job will be to stop them from advancing and limit the damage. Since they have a good shooting game it will be necessary to put pressure on them. »

adjustment

While Canada knows exactly what to expect, Rouet believes the English do not know what to expect from their opponents.

“We didn’t play in the same way at all in our four games,” he explained. We adapt to each team. We haven’t been the same team for three weeks. We improve with every game. It’s nice to see the development.

“Unlike our main rivals, we never have the opportunity to chain games in the way we currently do in pursuit of former Laval University head coach Rouge et Or. We have achieved our goals so far by presenting a quality game. »

The two rivals have not faced each other since the Canadian team centralized in Vancouver in anticipation of the World Cup.

Similarities to 2014

Paquin draws similarities to the 2014 World Cup when Canada caused an upset by pushing France aside to reach the final against England.

“Back then nobody believed that we could win against France,” emphasized the player, who is playing her third World Cup. England are a very good team and top the world rankings, but only scored one try against France in the Swimming pool in a 13-7 win, we need to exploit their weaknesses and build on our strengths. »