Canada women face England in rugby showdown at Twickenham to wrap up European tour

LONDON — Canadian coach Francois Ratier has made two changes to his starting lineup for Saturday’s women’s rugby test match with England.

Brittany Waters comes in for Elissa Alarie on the wing and Tyson Beukeboom takes over at lock for Kayla Mack.

The game is a rematch of the 2014 Women’s World Cup final, won 21-9 by England. Canada is currently ranked second in the world, compared to No. 3 for England.

The latest showdown between the two comes at Twickeham as the nightcap of a doubleheader, following the men’s match between England and Argentina.

The game is the final match of the Canadian women’s three-game European tour, following a 48-7 win over No. 4 Ireland last Saturday and a 20-10 loss to top-ranked New Zealand on Wednesday.

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England has been idle since losing 25-20 last Sunday to New Zealand.

“Every game is important for us leading into next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup,” captain Kelly Russell said in a statement. “We don’t have that much time together so every second counts and we’ve got to build off of every performance.”

Canada lost its first 17 matches to England but has gone 3-3-1 since for a career 3-20-1 record against the Red Roses.

The Canadian women thumped England 52-17 earlier this year at the Women’s Rugby Super Series in Utah. England won 15-14 when they met in Edmonton in July 2015.

England coach Simon Middleton has made six changes to the team beaten by the Black Ferns.

“Since last weekend we have reflected, regrouped and worked hard to address the aspects which didn’t go our way,” Middleton was quoted on the England Rugby website.

“It is always great to follow the men out and play at Twickenham, and we look forward to strong support from the home crowd,” he added. 

Canada

Carolyn McEwen, Burnaby, Vancouver; Laura Russell, Toronto Nomads, Bolton, Ont.; DaLeaka Menin, Calgary Hornets, Vulcan, Alta.; Tyson Beukeboom, Aurora Barbarians, Uxbridge, Ont.; Latoya Blackwood, Westshore RFC, Montreal; Kelly Russell (capt.), Toronto Nomads, Bolton, Ont.; Karen Paquin, Club de Rugby de Quebec, Quebec City; Jacey Grusnick, Aurora Barbarians, Alliston, Ont.; Chelsea Guthrie, Stratchona Druids, Edmonton; Emily Belchos, Westshore RFC, Innisfil, Ont.; Magali Harvey, Club de Rugby de Quebec, Quebec City; Andrea Burk, Capilano RFC; North Vancouver; Alex Tessier, Montreal Barbarians, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que.; Brittany Waters, Meraloma Athletic Club, Vancouver; Julianne Zussman, Castaway Wanderers, Montreal.

Replacements

Gillian Boag, Capilano RFC, Calgary; Demi Stamatakis, SFU, Vancouver; Olivia DeMerchant, Woodstock Wildmen, Mapledale, N.B.; Kayla Mack, Saskatoon Wild Oats, Saskatoon; Barbara Mervin, Westshore RFC, Peterborough, Ont.; Elissa Alarie, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC, Trois Rivieres, Que.; Mackenzie Higgs, Aurora Barbarians, Aurora, Ont,; Frederique Rajotte, Markham Irish, Markham, Ont.

England

Rochelle Clark (Worcester Valkyries), Amy Cokayne (Lichfield), Laura Keates (Worcester Valkyries), Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield), Alex Matthews (Richmond), Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol), Sarah Hunter (capt.) (Bristol), La Toya Mason (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Emily Scott (Saracens), Kay Wilson (Richmond), Rachael Burford (Aylesford Bulls), Emily Scarratt (Lichfield), Lydia Thompson (Worcester Valkyries), Danielle Waterman (Bristol).

Replacements

Emma Croker (Richmond), Vickii Cornborough (Aylesford Bulls), Sarah Bern (Bristol), Poppy Cleall (Bristol), Marlie Packer (Bristol), Natasha Hunt (Lichfield), Megan Jones (Bristol), Claire Allan (Saracens).

The Canadian Press

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