Women’s Rugby World Cup Quarterfinals Recap
- Olivia Myers
- Sep 18
- 4 min read
The pressure is mounting on the nations as they face sudden death in the quarterfinals. Let’s recap these four matches from this weekend!
New Zealand v South Africa
The Black Ferns, our reigning world champions, went into this match as the outright favourite over South Africa. Despite the obvious fan support for the Kiwis, South Africa proved their brilliance by going into halftime with two tries, making it a draw. However, New Zealand is known for its fierce second halves and certainly showed us this by scoring three tries in less than 10 minutes. One of the tries was scored by McGee, meaning she has scored 8 tries in her World Cup debut so far. After another try, McGee got to take a conversion to add a further two points to their lead, making it 39-10. 71 minutes in, South Africa’s Ngxingolo scored a try; however, there was an obstruction, so it was no try. At last, RSA got their first try of the second half with Makua. To add to this, Dolf managed to score the conversion to take the score to 39-17. Vahaakolo managed to barge her way through RSA’s defence to take another try while McGee added another 2 points. Olsen-Baker was named the Mastercard Player of the Match. Without a doubt, South Africa will head home filled with pride to have given a tremendous game and made it difficult for the Kiwis.
Score: 46-17 to New Zealand
Canada v Australia
With Australia being beaten by the Maple Leafs in their last 7 outings, it was sure to be a difficult battle on the pitch at Ashton Gate Stadium. 2 minutes in, Hogan-Rochester ploughed her way past the Australian defence to score the opening try. Australia responded with a try from Desiree Miller to draw the scoreboard, and luckily for them, Canada’s next try was disallowed due to a knock-on. Alisha Corrigan came storming back, making a fabulous run down the right wing before De Goede scored a try and conversion, taking the score to 17-5. Corrigan then scored her second try 20 minutes in, alongside a conversion, giving Canada a comfortable lead. Moleka was then replaced by Hinds as she went for an HIA, which was ruled clear, while Amosa replaced - for her HIA, which she failed to pass. Schell scored another try for Canada, but it was not allowed due to another knock-on. Hunt then scored after a powerful maul, which took us into halftime. Into the second half, Forteza got Canada another try after a long reach for the try line. Thunder accompanied Ashton Gate Stadium, but the rain didn’t stop these girls. With 3 minutes to go, Paquin scored the closing points, making it a 41 advantage over Australia. Canada will progress to the Semifinals against New Zealand next weekend. Player of the Match went to De Geode, who had a fantastic run and points scoring in the match.
Score: 46-5 to Canada
France v Ireland
These two nations are familiar with each other, having fought in the W6N earlier this year. While France was pressured with positive past performances in the knockouts, it was the first for the Irish, so they had nothing to lose. Even though France is the expected winner, it seemed like they’d lost their flow in the first half, having not scored any points while Ireland scored 13. A yellow card for captain Feleu for collapsing a maul didn’t aid France at the end of the first half when Ireland put immense pressure on them near the try line. To start the second half, France scored a penalty to finally get on the scoreboard. Unfortunately for Ireland, Hogan was forced off the pitch due to an injury and was replaced by Grace Moore. We then had a TMO review for a high tackle, which was confirmed, and Moore received a yellow card. Finally, a try was scored by Escudero for France, taking the score to 10-13. Vernier then had to leave for an HIA and was replaced by Okemba. A sensational run from Grisez earned her a try for her country to have a 2-point advantage over Ireland. France then scored a penalty to make it 18-13 with 5 minutes left on the clock. With two minutes left, a yellow card was given to Chambon for a deliberate knock on; however, France became semifinalists for the ninth time. Escudero was awarded the Player of the Match as well.
Score: 18-13, to France
England v Scotland
The Red Roses went into the match as the favourites, however, with the world's current best rugby player, Ellie Kildunne, unable to play the match, it definitely put some pressure on England off the bat. Less than five minutes in, Scotland put 3 points on the board from a penalty. Clifford and Talling both scored tries within 15 minutes with successful conversions, making it 14-3. Colayne scored the third try of the match which was later ruled an obstruction and retracted by the TMO. Abby Dow then scored after a fantastic catch on the right wing to take her 50th try for England. Clifford powered her way to the try line to further their advantage over Scotland to 23 points at halftime. Five minutes later, Clifford was sent for a HIA and replaced by Carson. After a great lineout and maul, Cokayne was able to redeem herself and score that deserved try. For a moment, we had two balls on the pitch due to the crowd throwing the previous one back onto the field and accidentally into play. Aitchison got her first try and scored the conversion making it 40-3. Morwenna Talling received the Mastercard Player of the Match. In the final moments, Lloyd managed to score their first and only try for Scotland out of pure perseverance. They do go home, however, they put up a great fight throughout the tournament and should keep their heads high. England will go through to the semifinals and will face France next weekend. In addition, the Red Roses have set a new world record of 31 wins in a row.
Score: 40-8, to England
Semifinal match schedule (BST)
19th September
19:00 New Zealand v Canada
20th September
15:30 France v England
Article written by Alice Seager ©️Alice Seager 2025
