Canada’s Women’s rugby team battled their way to a match with England in the Rugby World Cup semi-final on Friday, Nov. 4, having progressed to the final four with a 32 – 11 victory over USA in the quarterfinals.
Among Canada’s line-up, Emily Tuttosi, a twenty-seven-year-old from Souris.
“I am feeling beyond proud to be wearing the Maple Leaf at the World Cup tournament,” said Tuttosi. She says this is her first World Cup and she is very excited to be in New Zealand playing for Team Canada.
She adds she has watched Team Canada in the last couple of World Cups cheering as loud as she could through her TV screen and now to be a part of it and battling out there with them is a dream come true.
Her training weeks were more extensive in the summer than they are now. “We need to have faith that all the work we have put in was enough, and focus on fine details and analyzing our opponents.”
Emily says she and her team were training multiple times a week at a high intensity, but the duration is managed because playing six international matches on the bounce takes a toll on their bodies as they near the end of the tournament.
She adds that “New Zealand has been great. This is a country excited about rugby and you can feel it.” She says that with the most media coverage the Women’s World Cup has ever had, “excitement only continues to build for the tournament and rugby in general.”
One of rugby’s most famous venues, Eden Park is hosting both semi-finals, the final and the third-place playoff in the next two weeks.
Canada was looking to claim the gold medal against three of the world’s largest unions, England, France and hosts, New Zealand.
Canada faced their toughest test in the tournament against a fully professional English team who held a 29-game winning streak.
In a back-and-forth battle with the world’s number one team, Canada’s women’s rugby team lost to England 26-19 in the Rugby World Cup Semi-Final at Eden Park in Auckland. They were within reach of the lead throughout the match.
Canada will play France for third place on Friday, Nov. 11
Team Canada women’s Rugby profiles and standings can be found on rugby.ca
