Still unbeaten, yes, but for England this was anything but business as usual. The Red Roses remain undefeated in 40 Tests, but, for once, there were no victory speeches afterwards. For the first time since 2022 they have failed to win an international fixture, bringing to an end one of the purest winning sequences in world sport.
A wonderfully committed Canada fully deserved a share of the spoils and, in some ways, were unfortunate not to depart with more. The outcome was still up for grabs deep into the final quarter and England were indebted to two first-half tries from their Exeter wing Claudia Moloney-MacDonald. With the clock ticking down and the scores locked at 26-26, however, it appeared as though England might have located the necessary key, only for their forwards be held up over the line and then denied by a loudly celebrated Canadian ruck turnover.
In the final analysis, though, they lacked some of their customary forward dynamism and their frequent match-winner Ellie Kildunne was consistently denied the luxury of space and time out wide under grey, drizzle-threatening skies. The can-do Canadians, by contrast, all enhanced their reputations and will now be looking forward with even more eagerness to hosting England in two further WXV series Tests this autumn. Here was another reminder of the ability and spirit that took them all the way to last year’s World Cup final, with the openside flanker Julia Omokhuale, the centre Florence Symonds and the perennially excellent Sophie de Goede all outstanding.
The draw also ended England’s 100% home record against Canada and left John Mitchell with the unfamiliar task of reflecting on a disappointing result. We were applying huge pressure, but we just didn’t convert. Greater things will come as a result of this.
One Test match isn’t going to take us away from our purpose.” Maybe so, but Canada frequently looked the more dangerous with ball in hand, having grabbed the game by the lapels with two tries in the first quarter for the No 8, Lizzie Gibson, and the prop DaLeaka Menin. Both were the product of close quarter pick-and-go pressure, precisely the kind of thing England love using to their advantage, while a couple of costly dropped balls also did little for home momentum. They were not at their slickest in other areas, either, but did strike back via a ninth-minute try for MacDonald wide on the left and a no-nonsense barging score from Hannah Botterman.
The Mitchell plan is clearly to speed up the team’s tempo and add more variation to their game, but sometimes nothing beats the tried-and-tested basics. Both sides then had a potential try apiece ruled out, the first when MacDonald was unable to ground properly a bouncing chip ahead and, more contentiously, when a beautiful weaving 45-metre solo score by the athletic Asia Hogan-Rochester was nullified by a marginal forward pass. The ball appeared to come out of the hands flat only to drift forwards subsequently; either way it was tough on the classy Hogan-Rochester.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
