Lots to talk about in Women’s Rugby after the conclusion of the Pacific Four Series, while the Women’s Six Nations takes a break before what should be a thrilling final two weekends with plenty at stake for all.
However, this weekend, European Cup action takes centre stage as we look at the Investec Champions Cup Semi-Finals. We’re definitely in for a treat as France, England, and Ireland’s finest do battle. While Leinster and Bordeaux may be front-runners for a spot in the Final in Bilbao at the end of the month, both Toulon and Bath are more than capable of having plenty to say about that supposed foregone conclusion.
There’s plenty of excitement in the Canadian Women’s Camp despite the absence of traditional WXV competition this September/October. Instead, this year Canada will play reigning World Champions England in a home-and-away format. The most exciting news is that October sees Canada play England twice at home here in Canada, in Toronto and Ottawa, after their game against the Red Roses across the Pond in Exeter in September. That’s quite the opportunity to settle the score after last year’s World Cup Final at Twickenham and we hope like we are sure you do that both BMO Field in Toronto and TD Place in Ottawa will see record crowds.
The Pacific Four Series for this year is now over after New Zealand took the spoils in a significant return to form after the World Cup. Canada finished a strong second but will be slightly disappointed at the way the Black Ferns outsmarted them at their own game in Round 2 and claimed revenge for New Zealand’s shock exit from the World Cup in last year’s Semi-Final courtesy of Alex Tessier and her charges.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Six Nations has turned into a two-horse race between England and France, with the Red Roses looking borderline unbeatable on their unheard-of 35-game winning streak. While Italy may simply be cannon fodder next weekend for England, France in Lyon on the Final Saturday should provide them with their sternest Test to date since the World Cup. France looks like the next best thing, but even they will have to up their game by several gears, even on home soil, if they have any realistic ambitions of derailing the White juggernaut. As for the other four participants in the Women’s Six Nations, Ireland looks the most up and coming, while, as always, Italy looks capable of causing other teams headaches when they least expect them. Sadly, Wales and Scotland, despite plenty of promise, seem to be slipping backwards with each successive game, and we hope this weekend’s break will allow them to recharge and finish their campaigns on a high.
As always, plenty of heated discussions over some frothy pints in the last few weeks on the subject matter below, so let’s unpack it!
European Club Rugby at its absolute best serves up some potentially classic Semi-Finals
Two fascinating Semi-Finals and on paper although Bordeaux maybe reigning Champions, and Leinster have quite a few European stars on their jersey along with the fact both teams are playing at home there are no givens here. Bath have won it once and Toulon’s European record speaks for itself. Bath have an uncanny ability to come from behind guided by the Scottish equivalent of Gandalf in the shape of Finn Russell, while Toulon seem to have put all their eggs this season in their European basket, arguably at the expense of their domestic season in the TOP14. Consequently neither Bordeaux or Leinster are going to have things all their own way.
In the first Semi-Final, Toulon will be no strangers to pulling off miracles on the road. Their dogged determination to hang in there against Glasgow in that nail-biting Quarter-Final win left few in doubt about the pedigree and resilience of this legendary European side. They played a smart territorial game and were just that little bit better at taking their chances when the few that did arise presented themselves. They know they’ll need to do the same again this Saturday in the Dublin showdown.
Or will they? Leinster have been decidedly hot and cold this season, and they have a very bad habit of bottling European crunch matches, especially on home soil, in recent years. Their Quarter-Final match against a poor Sale side didn’t exactly test them. In contrast, against Glasgow, Toulon had to rely on every fibre of European experience they could draw on from their long and illustrious history in the competition. Defensively, at times, Leinster have looked poor this season, and given Toulon’s strike threats, this could cause them all kinds of heartaches at the Aviva on Saturday, while both sides’ scrums leave much to be desired.
Discipline has also been an issue for both sides in the competition, though arguably more so for Toulon, who will need to be on their best behaviour on Saturday. In short, we think this game is much harder to call than many who think it will be heavily weighted in Leinster’s favour. We’d argue that each team has a core of five players who could tip the scales in their favour. If Toulon and Argentinian fly half Tomas Albornoz, allied to his halfback partner Scottish scrum half Ben White, has one of his off-the-charts performances that sets Toulon’s secret weapons like Charles Ollivon, Juan Ignacio Brex or Gael Draen loose, then Leinster could be in for a long day at the office.
In our second mouthwatering fixture of the weekend, reigning Champions Bordeaux take on Bath, and we’d argue that the pundits are writing off Bath at their peril. Chaos merchants Alfie Barbeary at number eight and Henry Arundell on the wing can catch Bordeaux napping when they least expect it, especially when fly-half Finn Russell starts throwing his traditional sprinkle dust over proceedings. He is now ably assisted at fullback by Argentinian all-court master Santiago Carreras.
Bath will struggle with the set pieces and with keeping a rampant Bordeaux attack at bay. Bordeaux, so far this season, both in the TOP14 and Europe, has few, if any, weaknesses, plus they have the lethal tactical nuclear weapons of backs Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey for offensive strikes at a potentially vulnerable Bath defence, all guided by the genius of the halfback pairing extraordinaire of Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert. However, Bordeaux’s set-piece work can be a bit shaky at times, and Bath will be keen to exploit it. If it comes down to a case of trench warfare and staying the course, then Bath are likely to feel the more comfortable of the two sides, as opposed to a helter-skelter game at breakneck speed, which is much more Bordeaux’s preferred modus operandi.
Two high-stakes games that are not nearly as cut-and-dried as they may seem. Two potential classics in the making? We can’t wait to find out, but either way, we doubt you’ll be bored!
Leinster vs Toulon – Saturday, May 2nd – 10:00 AM (Eastern) – Premier Sports Asia and FLO Rugby (live and on demand)
Bordeaux vs Bath – Sunday, May 3rd – 10:00 AM (Eastern) – Premier Sports Asia and FLO Rugby (live and on demand)
Canada gets served a taste of their own medicine by New Zealand in the Pacific Four, but has the opportunity of a lifetime to host World Champions England this time on their turf and in front of their passionate fans!
This Pacific Four series was a tough watch at times from a Canadian perspective. Still, Canada can feel pleased with the fact that they finished strongly, blew off a fair number of post-World Cup cobwebs and produced in their final game a kind of performance that we’ve come to expect from them these days and which they will need in a gruelling three-game series against World Champions England this fall.
Hang on, we hear you say they won two out of three of their games, took home silver and were only knocked out of contention for the trophy by a New Zealand side with a point to prove after the World Cup. What’s tough about that? First up, these comments are not meant as criticism, especially when you consider Canada led New Zealand 14-5 at the break. The problem we saw was in the final 30 minutes, when New Zealand essentially played Canada’s game but simply executed it better. It was almost as if Canada were looking at what it must have felt like to face themselves in that epic Semi-Final in Bristol last year. In short, Canada seemed to find it rather unexpected and bewildering.
The warning signs were there for all to see in the first half as New Zealand were playing at a breakneck speed and trying to be even quicker at the rucks than Canada. The problem was that the execution simply wasn’t there at times for the Black Ferns, and Canada capitalized to take a halftime lead. When New Zealand emerged from the tunnel for the second half, they had clearly taken a long, hard look at themselves and figured out what needed to be done. If anything, the tempo increased even more, but with it the execution improved. New Zealand were incredibly quick with an eye to space and how to create it, leaving Canada’s defences struggling to catch up. It forced Canada into several seriously uncharacteristic errors and made us wonder if we were watching the same team that obliterated New Zealand just six months ago. Their decision-making under pressure at times left us baffled, and Canada looked almost panicked, which is not a quality we’re used to seeing in this team.
Still we’d argue it was a valuable lesson and a wake up call ahead of a daunting three match series against the World Champions England this fall. One of the things we’ve always admired about this team is their ability to quickly fix problems once identified. Their performance against the USA for the full eighty minutes a week later was unrecognizable from that muddled and borderline frantic and rather sloppy final half hour against New Zealand. They were back to their ruthless selves and apart from a few momentary lapses of concentration rarely allowed the USA to have any say in proceedings. Their execution and setpiece work were back to the very high standards they have now become a global benchmark for.
So, in short, as for the Pacific Four, the job was ultimately well done, and valuable lessons were learned in the game against New Zealand. After last year’s World Cup, opposition sides have figured Canada out and recognized that, for the most part, playing them at their own game is the best way to disrupt them. Their opponents this fall, in the shape of World Champions England, will be a huge challenge, especially as, in addition to some serious attacking prowess, the Red Roses have the physical ability and setpiece dominance to grind opposition sides into submission.
The advantage this time around, as opposed to Twickenham in last year’s World Cup Final, is that Canada will get to face their most feared opponent twice on home soil, in front of what should be record crowds for a Women’s Game in this country, here in Toronto and also in Ottawa. Make no mistake, it will be a huge challenge, especially against an English side which could well be on an unheard-of 37-match winning streak by the time they first meet at Exeter’s Sandy Park on the 19th of September.
On that note, make sure you register for tickets for the games at BMO Field and TD Place, as demand is expected to be high, and let’s make sure there is a huge crowd for both games. You can register using the link below:
https://info.rugby.ca/toronto-rc
England and France head towards a blockbuster Six Nations showdown!
The question that this year’s Women’s Six Nations revolves around is whether anyone can stop England? To be honest, despite the heroics of Ireland and Italy, there is only one side capable of pulling it off, and that is France. Both teams are exceptional, but it is ultimately the head-to-head between England’s Meg Jones and France’s Pauline Bourdon Sansus and the mentality and drive they bring to their teams which will ultimately see one or the other side home to lift the silverware.
France will feel buoyed by the fact that this epic showdown in the making will be held on its own turf in Lyon. What is likely to dampen their spirits somewhat is the fact that England will arrive off the back of an unprecedented 36-game winning streak, assuming Italy don’t pull off the upset of the century next weekend.
We simply can’t find any flaws in England’s game, whereas, unfortunately, although they are improving at a rate of knots under new Coach Francois Ratier, France are not without some skeletons in their closet. Discipline-wise, England, for the most part, remains squeaky clean, whereas France does not.
However, the argument remains that while rugby is a team sport, the roles of Bourdon Sansus and Meg Jones on the field are key catalysts for how these two teams play. They are the drivers of both their teams, and as good as their colleagues are, your eyes are always drawn to the part of the pitch where these two remarkable players are, as that’s where the magic invariably starts, as they are simply everywhere.
We’re fascinated to see how the Lyon dustup plays out, and we’ll be writing more as the game approaches, but for now, if you want an inkling of how it might go, spend an hour surfing through the highlights reels of both teams and tag these two players. We think it will tell you a great deal about what we can expect, mentally and physically, from both teams on May 17th, and how they’ll play each other!
Well, that’s it for this week, folks. Enjoy the Champions Cup Semi-Finals this weekend and hopefully a long overdue start to Spring!
The Lineout 