Canada and New Zealand met under the bright lights of Ashton Gate Stadium last night, both bringing their top game with a place in the finals on the line.
The world number two and number three have an almost identical recent history against each other, with their previous match ending in a draw, and both nations winning a match each before that.
Canada vs New Zealand semi-final highlights
However, come the semi-final, one nation clearly held the upper hand from the get-go. Controlling the game from the first whistle with their now-recognisable tempo attack and hard drives, Canada laid the pressure on thick - and New Zealand were simply unable to keep up.
The Canadian aggressiveness - despite coach Kévin Rouet often claiming that the girls are ‘too much Canadian and nice people’ - combined with a plethora of handling errors and dropped balls from the Black Ferns meant that despite New Zealand kicking into a new gear for the last 15 minutes, Canada came away with their easiest win against the Black Ferns to date, with a final score of 34 - 17.
This means that Canada will be one half of the record-breaking final at Allianz Stadium on September 27, facing either France or England - a fate that will be decided at 15:30 today, September 20.
Canada's reaction to their finals spot
This will be the first final that Canada have attended since 2014, when they lost to England in France, and marks an incredibly important moment for women’s rugby in Canada, as described by their captain Alex Tessier.
‘I think it’s huge - it will be a huge step for us, especially because we’re chasing that title and it will be immense for rugby in Canada when we do.
‘New Zealand were definitely tough opponents, they gave us a tough time especially in that second half - I think they were brave, at times braver than us, but we got the job done and super impressive coming from an almost amateur side against a professional side’.
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