Three more Chiefs Women heading to the World Cup final

Exeter Chiefs Women’s Canadian trio have been selected for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final against the Red Roses.

After last Friday’s landmark victory over the six-time champions, the Black Ferns, it is no surprise that Canada’s team is unchanged for this weekend’s fixture against the tournament favourites.

The Canadians beat New Zealand by 34 points to 19 at Ashton Gate. Five tries, including one from captain and Exeter Chiefs centre Alex Tessier, was enough to move into the sold-out tournament finale at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.

Tessier will be joined by Chiefs team-mates prop DaLeaka Menin and hooker Emily Tuttosi in the starting line-up as they aim to complete Mission: Win Rugby World Cup.

Canada’s head coach Kevin Rouet said: “We were very close last World Cup; we lost in the semi-final against England and I will say all the matrix were in our favour, but not the score. But we were not ready, in those kind of high-pressure games, to deliver and that's a big difference.

“Also, we changed the way we play because it was six months building confidence and that stuff takes time. I saw that one year ago that we were going the right direction and we do a lot of good stuff. Our win against New Zealand will help us to believe in that."

Chiefs fans travelling to the game or watching the coverage on BBC 1 will be forgiven for having split loyalties with so many of their current and former club players in action vying for women’s rugby’s biggest prize.

Exeter Chiefs Women’s head coach Steve Salvin said: “The bonus of this final is that whoever wins, Chiefs fans will be happy! We are immensely proud of our players involved in this fixture, as we have been of every Chief who has featured in this tournament.”

He added: “The World Cup games at Sandy Park were exciting enough, I cannot wait to hear 82,000 fans cheering on women’s rugby on Saturday. I hope it proves to be a pivotal moment in our sport that sees supporter numbers swell, not only for future international games, but for club rugby too. May the best team win!”

Canada

15 Julia Schell (Uxbridge, ON) – Guelph Goats / Castaway Wanderers / Ealing Trailfinders (31 caps)
14 Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) - CRFC / Saracens (25 caps)
13 Florence Symonds (Vancouver, BC) - University of British Columbia (17 caps)
12 Alexandra Tessier (Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC) – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC / Exeter Chiefs (65 caps)
11 Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON) - Toronto Nomads / Westshore RFC (7 caps)
10 Taylor Perry (Oakville, ON) - Oakville Crusaders / Exeter Chiefs (22 caps)
9 Justine Pelletier (Rivière-du-Loup, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (42 caps)
1. McKinley Hunt (King City, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Saracens (37 caps)
2. Emily Tuttosi (Souris, MB) - Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (40 caps)
3. DaLeaka Menin (Vulcan, AB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (68 caps)
4. Sophie de Goede (Victoria, BC) - Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (40 caps)
5. Courtney O'Donnell (Rimbey, AB) – Red Deer Titans Rugby (52 caps)
6. Caroline Crossley (Victoria, BC) - Castaway Wanderers (12 caps)
7. Karen Paquin (Quebec City, QC) - Club de rugby de Quebec (50 caps)
8. Fabiola Forteza (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (40 caps)

Replacements:
16 Gillian Boag (Calgary, AB) – Capilano RFC (38 caps)
17 Brittany Kassil (Guelph, ON) – Guelph Goats (52 caps)
18 Olivia DeMerchant (Mapledale, NB) – Halifax Tars RFC (65 caps)
19 Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, ON) – Cowichan Piggies / Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders (83 caps)
20 Laetitia Royer (Loretteville, QC) – St-Anne-de-Bellevue / Concordia University / Saracens (21 caps)
21 Gabrielle Senft (Regina, SK) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (39 caps)
22 Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC (24 caps)
23 Shoshanah Seumanutafa (White Rock, BC) – Counties Manukau (24 caps)