What happened at the Women’s Rugby World Cup? Pool B results, key moments, standout players and more from second round of group matches

Emma Griffiths

What happened at the Women’s Rugby World Cup? Pool B results, key moments, standout players and more from second round of group matches image

Adrian Dennis

Pool B's second weekend of group matches certainly lived up to the precedent set with the opening games, with two rip roaring games in Salford Community Stadium in Manchester.

Both Canada and Scotland were able to quality for the knockout rounds off the back of their performances, meaning that they will vie for top spot of Pool B next week. 

The Sporting News runs through the matches, results, key players and more.

Canada vs Wales

Score: 42 - 0

Location: Salford Community Stadium, Manchester

Try scorers:

Canada:

Hunt (2), Corrigan, Hogan-Rochester, Perry, Kassil; Conv: de Goede (6)

Player of the Match: Sophie de Goede (Canada)

Match report:

Canada once more established why they are world number twos as they thrashed Wales 42 - 0 in front of a sold out crowd at Salford Community Stadium in Manchester.

Wales were unable to beat their curse of losing to Canada, as this marks their eighth consecutive loss to the Maple Leafs.

Although Wales started strong, dominating possession, they were unable to convert this momentum to any points, and the tide quickly changed to the Canadian advantage after the first ten minutes.

The Welsh defence put in a valiant effort, with Molly Reardon, Bethan Lewis, Abbie Fleming and Bryonie King performing innumerable tackles to try and stay the Canadian offensive, but half time rang in with Canada 28 - 0 up.

The Canadian attack was electric to watch, as McKinley Hunt scored twice in the first half, and Asia Hogan-Rochester made five line-breaks - the most of any player yet at the 2025 World Cup.

Hogan-Rochester added more glory to her name as she scored a try in her World Cup debut, which was then effortlessly converted by de Goede.

Sophie de Goede was the game’s stand out star though, as she converted every Canadian try with pinpoint precision, as well a huge 19 carries throughout the game.

Although Canada’s Olivia DeMerchant received a yellow card late in the game, Wales were unable to execute a comeback, ending the game with no points.

This means the end of the line for the Welsh team, who will be unable to progress to the quarterfinals after two big losses, whilst Canada have officially succeeded in qualifying for the knock-out rounds.

 

Scotland vs Fiji

Score: 29 - 15

Location: Salford Community Centre, Manchester

Try scorers:

Scotland:

McGhie (2), Lloyd (2), Orr; Conv: Nelson (2)

Fiji:

Senivutu, Komaitai, Naisewa

Player of the Match: Evie Gallagher (Scotland)

Match report:

Scotland and Fiji faced each other in front of another sold-out crowd in Manchester in the second round of Pool B matches.

It was a closely contested match throughout, with Scotland establishing an early lead 10 -0 with two tries in the first ten minutes.

Francesca McGhie, who scored three times last weekend against Wales, truly set the tone for the match touching the ball down in just 90 seconds.

Despite Fiji playing a man down after Matarugu was dealt a yellow card for a high tackle early in the match, they were anything but complacent in the first half as they refused to back down, as Daunimoala and Tawake impressed with the metres they gained in the first half.

Their efforts paid off as Loraini Senivutu was able to cross the line to bring Fiji a crucial five points. Although this was quickly countered by another Scottish try by Lloyd, it was still all to play for at half time.

The Fiji fire continued to burn in the second half, as they dominated possession and were able to cross the line twice - including Karalaini Naisewa scoring in the final five minutes -  despite being a woman down again after Bitila Tawake was sent off with a red card at 56 minutes.

However, it was ultimately not enough to deter the Scots from victory, as McGhie and Orr crossed the line within four minutes of each other to cement their win.

In defence, Evie Gallagher earnt Player of the Match as the last line of defence against Fiji, as she made a staggering 32 tackles and commanded the defensive set up.

This victory means that Scotland have officially booked their place at the quarterfinals, and depending on their game against Canada next week, have a shot at finishing top of Pool B.

What does this mean for next week?

Due to their incredibly strong performances over the last two weeks, both Canada and Scotland have been able to progress to the quarterfinals. However, the team that will finish top of Pool B will be decided next week as the two nations face each other. 

Sadly, this means that Fiji and Wales will not be progressing further with their World Cup journey after next week, but that means that they will be giving their all on the pitch in their final match. 


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Emma Griffiths

Emma Griffiths is a freelance journalist who, in combination with completing her degree from the University of Bristol, specialises in covering women’s rugby and football. Specialising in the human, player-first coverage of these rapidly growing sports, her work centres on amplifying attention and female voices through engaging, investigative and comprehensive storytelling drawing attention to the unique and developing landscape of women’s sport.