Canada's women's rugby team scores 3 tries in loss to New Zealand before record home crowd

It was a women's rugby celebration in Ottawa on Saturday.

A record crowd of 10,092 fans watched Sophie de Goede, Fabiola Forteza and Olivia DeMerchant post tries for Canada in a 52-21 loss to the reigning world champion New Zealand Black Ferns at TD Place in Pacific Four Series action — key preparation for the 2025 World Cup in England.

It was the largest crowd in program history. The on-field performance, nevertheless, was subpar, according to Canada head coach Kevin Rouet.

"I think we underperformed," he said. "We had some good moments, but it's not enough. You have to have your A game for 80 minutes if you want to beat New Zealand.

"I think we showed too much weakness on defence at some moments and offensively we missed some opportunities where if we'd scored, it could have changed the game. We are close and far from New Zealand at the same time — that's what I take from this game."

What a moment in front of a record Canadian crowd! 🇨🇦<br><br>We're underway here between Rugby Canada and the Black Ferns! 🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PacificFour2023?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PacificFour2023</a> <a href="https://t.co/IuGXUClFLH">pic.twitter.com/IuGXUClFLH</a>

Captain de Goede of Victoria put the No. 4 Canadians on the board late in the first half, shortly before Quebec City's Forteza added a try of her own. de Goede's two conversions made it 21-14 in favour of the visitors at halftime.

"I felt like tempo was something that we could try to inject more into the game and so I thought regardless of whether I ended up getting in or not, at least it would keep them on their toes," said de Goede, who loved hearing the cheers rain down from the TD Place supporters.

"We're just so appreciative of Canadians and the Canadian rugby community," added de Goede, who just celebrated her 24th birthday on June 30. "I mean, there's no words, because that's never happened before.

"It was pretty cool. I hope that just as players before us inspired us. I hope we can inspire the next generation through games like this."

Wow! The home fans enjoyed that score! 🇨🇦<a href="https://twitter.com/RugbyCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RugbyCanada</a> are right back in this match! 🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PacificFour2023?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PacificFour2023</a> <a href="https://t.co/5Su8Mx4gyM">pic.twitter.com/5Su8Mx4gyM</a>

The record-setting crowd was just one sign of growth for the Canadian women's rugby 15s team. When the Canadian women last played in Ottawa a decade ago, the roster was made up almost exclusively of amateur players.

Now, about half of the team's 23 members play for professional clubs in Europe.

The second-ranked Black Ferns took control of the match early. Luka Connor put New Zealand in front in the second minute, with Ruahei Demant and Mererangi Paul each adding tries in the first half for a 21-0 lead.

Amy du Plessis extended New Zealand's lead to 28-14 with the first points of the second half.

DeMerchant of Mapledale, N.B., who earned her 55th cap and now sits third all-time for Canada alongside Maria Gallo, wasted no time in replying to keep the game within a try and a conversion at 28-21.

They just keep on going! 🇨🇦<a href="https://twitter.com/RugbyCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RugbyCanada</a> drive over for another score!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PacificFour2023?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PacificFour2023</a> <a href="https://t.co/agXQPDvq1C">pic.twitter.com/agXQPDvq1C</a>

From then on, however, it was all New Zealand.

Paul posted her second try of the day, but the only missed kick of the game left the Black Ferns with a 33-21 lead.

New Zealand kept pressuring the Canadian squad, now unable to flex some of the defensive muscles seen in the first half. Renee Holmes, du Plessis, again, and Kelsey Teneti closed out the scoring.

DaLeaka Menin of Vulcan, Alta., made it to 46 caps and tied Julia Sugawara for seventh all-time. Rugby sevens stars Olivia Apps of Lindsay, Ont., and Florence Symonds of Hong Kong made their international 15s debuts.

Canada last faced New Zealand in June 2022, falling 28-0.

The Canadian women will take on fifth-ranked Australia to wrap their Pacific Four Series campaign Friday at TD Place, having beat No. 7 U.S. 50-17 in April in Madrid to kick off the competition.

The top three teams will qualify to the top tier of the inaugural WXV tournament, a new annual global women's rugby 15s event similar to world championships in other sports, hosted in New Zealand and starting on Oct. 21.

England, France and Wales have already qualified. The lowest-ranked nation in the Pacific Four Series will head to the second tier.

After Saturday's round, in which Australia topped the U.S. 58-17, New Zealand leads the Pacific Four standings with 10 points in front of Canada and Australia, both with five. The Americans are at the bottom with zero points.

Former Canadian international player Julianne Zussman served as referee for the U.S.-Australia match in her hometown.

The Canadian women's under-20 team was also in action to kick off the triple-header at TD Place on Saturday against the Americans. Canada led 17-14 at halftime, but the U.S. pulled ahead in the second half to win 40-24.

Carissa Norsten scored two tries for Canada, while Victoria Stanley and Tia Jordo each had one. Gerry Atkins and Lauren Maye each added a convert.

Rugby Canada made free tickets available to school-age children and offered regular priced tickets starting at $20 to help pack the park. There are also piles of community events taking place around the series. Roughly 5,000 youth will have the chance to try rugby for free and local schools will get to keep 3,000 rugby balls.

With files from The Canadian Press