Canada shock New Zealand to reach Women's Rugby World Cup final
Canada end New Zealand's title defense with a 34-19 semi-final win at Ashton Gate, advancing to the final to face the winner of England vs France.
Canada sensationally deposed Women's Rugby World Cup holders New Zealand on Saturday, beating the Black Ferns 34-19 to reach the tournament final at Ashton Gate in Bristol. The victory ends New Zealand's 11-year hold on the world title and sends Canada to their second final, after losing to England in the 2014 showpiece. The result sets up a final against the winner of England and France, with Canada confident of lifting their first world title.
Canada dominated the opening exchanges and never ceded control. After a frantic two minutes of end-to-end action, Renee Holmes' kick out on the full gave Canada a platform for a fast start. Tessier gathered a chip-ahead, and from the resulting phases Pelletier darted under the posts to give Canada the lead. Asia Hogan-Rochester then showed searing pace to sprint past full-back Holmes and stretch the advantage to 12 points inside 10 minutes. New Zealand, who began as slight favourites, were briefly buoyed by a Kalounivale try late in the first half, but the visitors' discipline and Canadian fine rugby shone through as Canada headed to the break 24-7 ahead.
The second half began with a dagger blow for the Black Ferns. Three minutes after the restart, centre Alex Tessier stepped off her right foot and glided in to extend Canada’s lead to 31-7, effectively tilting the match beyond New Zealand’s reach. The Black Ferns briefly found another spark as Mikaele-Tu'u crossed from close range and Braxton Sorensen-McGee finished a Demant cross-field punt, but the deficit proved too large for a comeback.
De Goede stretched Canada further away by running over from Pelletier's one-handed offload to make it 34-14 before the late stages saw New Zealand press and claw back a penalty that left the final margin at 15 points. De Goede also kicked three penalties across the match to contribute to a dominant Canadian display that limited New Zealand to five first-half penalties to none for Canada.
The atmosphere at Ashton Gate reflected the scale of the upset. A crowd of 24,392 roared as Canada shut down the Black Ferns and adopted a raucous chorus of "Canada, Canada" as Shania Twain’s hits pulsed through the stadium. The Canadian side celebrated with the fans after the full-time whistle, reflecting a country that has long pushed for a breakthrough moment on rugby’s biggest stage.
Canada’s path to the final has been built on discipline, depth and a willingness to press the action from first whistle. Their semi-final success followed a campaign punctuated by confidence from meetings with New Zealand in previous World Cup warmups — a 22-19 win and a 27-27 draw in Christchurch — that gave the team belief they could topple the defending champions. The victory also marked a significant moment of pride for Canadian rugby, reinforced by a charity-driven preparation effort that allowed the team to focus on the World Cup with strong support behind them.
With the win, Canada advance to the final and will face the winner of England vs France in Saturday’s title decider. It will be Canada’s first appearance in a World Cup final since the 2014 final, when England defeated them, and the country has now earned a chance to write a new chapter in women’s rugby history.
