Canada’s Beukeboom drops to bench for Australia tie

Canada’s most-capped player Tyson Beukeboom drops to the bench for their Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Australia on Saturday in Bristol.

Head coach Kevin Rouet has made three changes and one positional switch to the side that secured top spot in Pool B by comfortably beating Scotland last Saturday.

Courtney O’Donnell starts in the second row in place of the 34-year-old Beukeboom, with Caroline Crossley coming into the back row at blind-side flanker and Fabiola Forteza moving to number eight.

Saracens’ Sophie de Goede, who was player of the match in the 42-0 victory over Wales, starts alongside O’Donnell in the second row.

Rouet’s side are ranked number two in the world and defeated the Wallaroos, who finished second in Pool A, 45-7 in May.

Beukeboom is confident of going one step further than when she featured in the World Cup final defeat by England in 2014.

“In 2014 no-one was looking at us, we were the only ones that thought we could,” she told BBC Sport.

“Everyone is looking at us now, no-one has a choice not to. We’ve been incredibly successful over the last two years and building.

“Before it was, can we do it? Now it is will we?”

Australia head coach Jo Yapp has made only two changes to her starting team defeated by England in Brighton on Saturday.

Flanker Emily Chancellor and centre Cecilia Smith are recalled, while hooker Katalina Amosa and lock Ashley Fernandez come on to the bench.

Prop Lydia Kavoa is fit to start after departing the game early in Brighton with an ankle injury.

Canada: Schell; Corrigan, Symonds, Tessier (capt), Hogan-Rochester; Perry; Pelletier; Hunt, Tuttosi, Menin, De Goede, O’Donnell, Crossley, Paquin, Forteza.

Replacements: Boag, Kassil, DeMerchant, Beukeboom, Royer, Senft, Apps, Seumanutafa.

Australia: Halse; Stewart, Friedrichs, Smith, Miller; Moleka, Wood; Kavoa, Talakai, Karpani, Leaney, Leonard, Duck, Chancellor, Palu (capt).

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)

Assistant referees: Lauren Jenner (Italy) and Holly Wood (England)