New Zealand moved within a win of its third straight Women's Rugby World Cup after thrashing France 40-10 in the semi-finals on Tuesday.
The Black Ferns will contest Sunday's final against England, which survived a late rally to edge host Canada 20-14. New Zealand downed England 19-9 to win the 2002 World Cup final at Barcelona.
Fullback Amiria Marsh scored behind the posts in the first minute to open the scoring for New Zealand, en route to the defending champion's 14th straight win in World Cup play.
PHOTO: AP
French No. 8 Delphine Plantet scored the first try against New Zealand this tournament in the eighth minute after the Black Ferns pack was shunted off a five-meter scrum feed.
Center Huriana Manuel restored New Zealand's lead two minutes later and openside flanker Rochelle Martin scored twice more to leave the score at 20-5 at the break.
Emma Jensen extended the lead just over a minute into the second half, but French lock Corinne Devroute crossed the line shortly after to keep the game alive.
England opened its match confidently with a seventh-minute try to Charlotte Barras and a penalty from Karen Andrew to take an 8-0 lead into the break.
Kim Shaylor crossed for another unconverted try in the 43rd minute for a 13-0 lead.
Canada drew within six points after Julie Foster replied with a try in the 49th minute, which captain Kelly McCallum converted.
Barras scored her second try of the match in the 73rd minute and England held out a late Canadian rally in the final three minutes when Heather Moyse scored a converted try.
Canada will now face France in the bronze medal match on Sunday.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tomorrow for the final berth at next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome yesterday. The home team's loss means that Nicaragua finishes No. 1 in the qualifier round held in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to the games. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier yesterday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, finished third, while South Africa placed at the bottom
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