The quarter-finals went according to script with New Zealand, France, Canada and England registering comfortable wins and progressing to the semi-finals.
These are by far and away the best four sides in women’s rugby, and we should be in for an interesting set of semis with England taking on Canada in the opener and hosts, New Zealand, squaring up with France in the second game.
Saturday 5 November
Canada 10/1 | Draw 35/1 | England 1/33 (05:30)
Handicap
Canada (+26.5) 17/20 | England (-26.5) 17/20
England will be looking to make it 30 wins on the trot as they take on an ever-improving Canadian outfit early on Saturday morning.
The English have been in sensational touch during the tournament cantering to massive pool phase victories over South Africa and Fiji. They hammered Australia 41-5 in last weekend’s quarter-finals. Their only real challenge came in the pool phase against Six Nations rivals France, who they ground down to grab a narrow 7-13 win.
Key to England’s dominance has been their powerful forward pack, who were absolutely unstoppable against the Australians this past Sunday. They opened the scoring with a pushover try and then added a further two tries from close range pick and goes, and another two from rolling mauls.
While this had led to criticism from some sections of the press who have branded their rugby as dull, I reckon it’s a very smart move and one that is likely to reap dividends again this Saturday.
Canada also enjoyed a solid outing in the quarters as they beat arch-rivals the United States 32-11. This was their second successive win against their neighbours as they had beat them the week prior in the final pool phase game. They also racked up wins over Japan (5-41) and Italy (12-22) on their way to topping Pool B.
Like the English, Canada possesses a strong forward pack and will look to keep things tight. This tactic may well backfire, however, as England boasts a far more powerful pack.
England really did look good and last week’s win over Australia was a massive statement. I reckon they’ll rack up a big win over the Canadians here. Get on the (-26.5) handicap.
New Zealand 1/3 | Draw 22/1 | France 22/10 (08:30)
Handicap
New Zealand (-7.5) 9/10 | France (+7.5) 8/10
The pick of the semi-final action is next up with tournament hosts New Zealand taking on a very handy French outfit. Both sides enjoyed solid Pool phase campaigns with France hammering South Africa and Fiji before going down by just six points to tournament-favourites, England. New Zealand, meanwhile, beat Australia, Wales and Scotland by huge margins.
The duo also made light work of their quarter-final opponents with the tournament hosts running out 55-3 victors against Wales, while the French beat neighbours Italy 39-3. Portia Woodman was the stand-out player for the New Zealanders in the quarter-finals as she bagged two tries and put in a monstrous shift. On the French side of things, fly-half Caroline Drouin had another solid day at the office marshalling her exciting backline with aplomb.
Both of these teams play a very similar style of rugby and like to get their dangerous outside backs on the ball as much as possible. New Zealand hold the edge when it comes to the forward pack, however.
France gave England a run for their money in the pool phase and I reckon they’ll give this heavyweight New Zealand side a scare as well. While I fully expect the Kiwis to win it, I don’t reckon they’ll be able to beat 7.5-point handicap.
