Category News

England vs. Canada rugby world cup final

Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, September Kick-off: 16:00 BST

Although it may seem obvious that England will win the Women’s Rugby World Cup final on Saturday, it is not certain what will happen.

The Maple Leafs are just ahead of them at world number two and unbeaten this year, while the Red Roses are the world’s top-ranked team with 32 victories.

England must take caution after Canada outclassed defending champions New Zealand 34-19 in the semi-finals after leading 24-7 at half-time.

And they had more of the ball, more territory, and were arguably the better team when they faced the Red Roses in 2024, despite ultimately losing 21-12.

This tournament, Kevin Rouet’s team haven’t really put a foot wrong.

They won all of their group games, going on to score 40 points each, beat Australia 46-5 in the quarter-finals, and then blazed past New Zealand in the semi-finals thanks to a quick start that gave them a 17-0 lead after 24 minutes.

When asked to explain why the Maple Leafs are so good, former England flanker Maggie Alphonsi claimed, “Canada has one of the fastest ruck speeds.”

“When you watch how Canada plays, you take the hit and then the ball comes out again in less than two seconds.” It almost resembles a pit stop in Formula 1.

If sides want to maintain their attacking momentum and create chaos in opposition defenses, quick ruck speeds, or the time it takes for the ball to be recycled after a tackle, are crucial.

Canada produced the second-most clean breaks, the second-most offloads, and overwhelmingly made the most runs at this World Cup.

They enjoy quick, fluid rugby, with an emphasis on keeping the ball from the ground. In contrast, England has run 253 fewer runs and 48 offloads in a clean break.

Lesley McKenzie, a former hooker and head coach of Japan, claims that Canada has the ability to “scorch England.”

She stated on the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast, “Canada will go after England.”

They engage in chaos and unorganized play.

Canada lost to England in Paris for the first time since 2014 in their first World Cup final, which was a 21-9 loss.

Canada has won the Pacific Four Series twice in 2024, narrowly missing out on defending their title on points difference, and won silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Since the last World Cup in 2022, which ended in a narrow semi-final defeat to England, they have now won twice in the top three of the WXV1.

The Maple Leafs are vying for airtime against ice hockey, basketball, and football, but they are making a name for themselves this World Cup, with Canadian pop star Shania Twain wishing the team good luck on social media before their semi-final.

The Maple Leafs, who are not a fully professional side, have had to work hard to pay for their financial woes despite their wealth on the pitch.

The team also raised $ 530,000 through a Mission: Win Rugby World Cup fundraising drive in addition to the financial support they receive from Rugby Canada and World Rugby.

When McKenzie made her debut in 2004, she was forced to pay to play for Canada because it came too late to really fully benefit any World Cup build-up.

Therefore, everything that went into this has already been done. It has been anticipated for the previous years.

“They don’t have any money, but they have a ridiculous IQ,” they said.

“Head coach Rouet] has a very friendly manner toward the group. Additionally, the program is complex. There are many different languages used for negotiation. Different time zones and countries exist.

Because of how large the nation is, having a large central camp repeatedly unfeasible economically.

Numerous members of Canada’s squad still reside in North America and work from home. For instance, the Halifax fire department’s Prop Olivia DeMerchant works as a firefighter.

However, only about half of the squad, which includes former World Cup winner Sophie de Goede, captain Alex Tessier, and fly-half Taylor Perry, has signed with English Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) clubs.

Even if the strength of PWR may come back to haunt England on Saturday, according to Rugby Football Union (RFU) CEO Bill Sweeney, it is a good thing that the strength of PWR is supporting Canada’s players.

He claimed that “they’re getting the exposure to top-notch women’s rugby.” We all want the women’s game to get better and their composure to get better.

If other international players play there and that makes their union performance better, that’s great for the game.

McKenzie is confident that the final “will have an impact” and that Canada will have a significant chance to win the world title for the first time in terms of inspiring the next generation back home.

Callum Grigor, a British superbike rider, was placed in a coma for 17 days after suffering a head injury and fractures in a collision at Donington Park.

On the first lap of the Pirelli National Superstock Championship race in Goddards Corner on September 6th, the Scot exited his bike.

Team Grigor claimed on Facebook that the 26-year-old “has now opened his eyes and is only able to communicate briefly but is still very sleepy” and that he is smiling at all the nurses who have come to see him finally awake.

A ventilator had improved Grigor’s respiratory function, but the breathing tube has now been taken out.

His team confirmed that he had a head injury as a result of his initial collision, spinal fractures, a shoulder socket and elbow joint damage, as well as a severe puncture wound to the arm.

However, according to them, his chest and lungs suffered the most serious injuries, including multiple rib fractures.

“Callum has been able to get this far,” they continued, citing the prompt care provided by Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham and all the medical staff at BSB [British Superbikes].

“It has undoubtedly saved his life,” they said. We can’t thank everyone enough.

More than £23,000 has reportedly been raised to support the family of the Wishaw rider.

Nathan Harrison, 27, who also traveled with the Isle of Man, sustained a limb injury in the collision.

World number one Scottie Scheffler is among several US Ryder Cup players who say they will donate to charity the money they are being paid to play at this week’s event following criticism over the payments.

All 12 of the American players – plus captain Keegan Bradley – are being given $500,000 (£370,000), with $300,000 (£220,000) of that already put aside as a charitable donation.

It is up to each player to decide what to do with the extra cash. Some of the American players have not yet been asked what they are planning to do. But if all 12, plus Bradley, donate the money, then charities will benefit to the tune of $6.5m (£4.8m).

Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele said on Tuesday they would be donating their earnings.

The $300,000 is the first rise in the charity donation since it was introduced at $200,000 in 1999.

Their European counterparts do not receive any money. When asked if a fast start by Europe this week could result in home fans’ resentment over the extra payments, captain Luke Donald replied: “That could happen.”

Bradley, who said he would be giving all his money to charity, defended the extra payment to players when he spoke to the media on Monday.

“The charity dollars hadn’t changed since 1999 and they asked me to shepherd their way into making it into 2025,” he said.

“We wanted to bring the Ryder Cup into today’s age and we felt like this was the best way to do it.

“The players are going to do a lot of good with this money.”

Former US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson is among critics of the payment.

“I don’t agree with it,” eight-time major winner Watson said on the Golf Channel. “[In the past] they gave us some money for favoured charities. That was the right thing to do for the players.

“I just don’t think they should be paid. They should be playing for their country and their team-mates.”

Scheffler – the first of the US players to speak to the media on Tuesday – told BBC Sport that he had plans for the money, but would not share the detail.

“My wife and I like to do a lot of stuff in our local community and I’ve never been one to announce what we do,” said the four-time major winner.

“I don’t like to give charitable dollars for some kind of recognition. We have something planned for the money that we’ll be receiving.

“I think it’s a really cool thing that the PGA of America has empowered us to do.

“I have a deep passion for the city of Dallas, I have a deep passion for the organisations that we support at home, and I’m excited to be able to take this money and be able to do some good in our local community.”

Scheffler’s view was echoed by Cantlay, who works with a number of charitable foundations.

“One of the great things about these team events for me is there’s always such a big charitable component to it, so I’m going to donate the money,” he said.

“Hopefully someone growing up in southern California gets that opportunity and can follow their dreams as well.”

Cantlay was at the centre of a row at the last Ryder Cup in Rome in 2023, when he did not wear a team cap – reportedly in protest at the lack of a personal payment.

The PGA of America said in December that “no player asked to be compensated” to play at the Ryder Cup, and on Tuesday Cantlay reiterated his stance that “the hat didn’t fit, and this year we worked to make sure we had one, so we’re good”.

Bradley said the new payments mirrored what happens in the Presidents Cup – the Ryder Cup-style match between the US and a non-European International team.

And he defended Cantlay’s decision not to wear a cap in Rome, telling BBC Sport: “We blew this way out of proportion. We got him a hat that fits, he wore it, no big deal.”

Schauffele accused the media of “trying to make it a negative thing” before adding that he will also donate his extra $200,000 to charity.

“It’s something that selfishly will make me feel good about what I do,” he said.

Fifteen-time major winner Tiger Woods was influential in the US players getting paid before the 1999 contest at Brookline.

That charitable donation of $200,000 remained the same until the PGA of America announced last December it had raised the payment to $500,000, with $300,000 going direct to charity.

The extra $200,000 ‘stipend’ is $50,000 less than the players on both teams receive at the Presidents Cup, which is run by the PGA Tour.

Europe’s stance has always been to not financially reward their Ryder Cup players, with Rory McIlroy previously saying he would pay for the privilege of playing in the biannual event.

Donald said: “We all know how high the ticket prices are, averaging out at around $750 each. So it’s going to be an expensive trip out for a family of four.

“If the US players are getting paid, and they aren’t performing, the New Yorkers could make them know about it.”

Speaking to Sky Sports, Donald added: “This [payment] came up and I wanted to get ahead of it and talk to the 12 guys in Rome when it looked like the US were going to do something different with payments.