There is more Nations Cup Rugby action today! Its starts at 2:00pm EST with France vs USA and finishes with England vs Canada at 4:00EST.
You can either view the at below or go directly to the Ustream site here. Each match will also be archived and available at Ustream.
For full rosters and schedule of Nations Cup 2009, go here.
8/10: USA vs England Match Report
8/10: France vs South Africa Match Report
8/13: Canada vs South Africa Match Report
8/13: England vs France Match Report
8/16: Canada vs France Match Report
8/16: USA vs South Africa Match Report
8/19: England vs South Africa Match Report
8/19: Canada vs USA Match Report
8/22: USA vs France Match Report
8/22: England vs Canada Match Report
**Submit Your Letter of Encouragement to the USA Eagles!
from Rugby Canada:
It does not matter that England’s bonus point win over South Africa on Wednesday was less than spectacular; it was enough to secure their position atop the tournament standings and earn them their second consecutive Nations Cup title.
The last time the two rugby nations faced off in the 2006 World Cup, England took a 74-8 win, but South Africa has made massive strides since and showed a wealth of potential in yesterday’s 25-0 loss.
South Africa finish the Nations Cup at the bottom of the table, but they will be an impressive side with the added experience from six more test matches between now and the World Cup.
England will conclude their campaign with what could be seen as a formality, but a final match against Canada on Saturday promises to be an intense one as both sides will look to erase their previous performance.
What started as a tiny snowball of momentum has quickly gathered into an avalanche for the USA. The American program entered the Nations Cup without a win to their name since the last World Cup, but has since secured two victories against South Africa and Canada.
With exactly a calendar year before the next World Cup, the Americans have picked a very opportune time to make ground, and look to Saturday’s match against France with newfound confidence.
Third-ranked France hope to kill the US’s momentum on Saturday, but with the two countries having identical 2009 Nations Cup records, the match should be closer than originally anticipated.
The sun had set and injury time was ticking down in Canada’s Wednesday match against the USA when the Americans crossed for their final try. It was a hard loss for Canada, having previously beat the same side 25-17 in June.
Both of Canada’s losses have been a heartbreaking 5-point difference and though the squad has a much-needed day off after 210 minutes of test rugby in a week, you can bet the tournament is never far from their thoughts.
The Canadians produced a solid 80 minutes but were unable to capitalize on their lion’s share of territory, especially in the first half.
The Meraloma’s Brittany Waters and Calgary Irish’s Tara Eckert scored their first international points in the loss to the Americans. A dramatic conversion attempt by Julianne Zussman would have put the Canadians ahead in the dying minutes of the game, but the ball rang off the post emphatically instead.
The Nations Cup tournament may seem slightly unrealistic with so many quality internationals scheduled so close together, but Canada’s head coach John Long sees the value of being able to quickly turnaround physically and mentally.
“From a coaching perspective, the value of a tournament like this comes from having players being put under international duress to see how they perform. There’s always an inclination to select the strongest side and not give every player an opportunity to perform, but with this sort of schedule we have to manage our players. “
Long has a lot of respect for England and knows the Canada will face a certain challenge in their final match of the 2009 Nations Cup.
“England always set themselves apart, they don’t make mistakes. If we make mistakes, nine times out of 10 England will capitalize on it. We have to retain possession, if we don’t, we’re going to make it very difficult for ourselves on Saturday.”
The Nations Cup will move venues for the final matches of the tournament from gracious Appleby College in Oakville to Fletcher’s Fields in Markham. France and the USA have the early game at 2pm, before Canada kicks off against England at 4
.30pm. Both matches will be broadcast on Rogers TV on a 24-hour delay.
Canada Roster
Leslie Cripps (Saracens)
2. Leslie McKenzie (UBCOB Ravens)
3. Tabitha Stavrou (Irish Canadians)
4. Marie-Eve Brindamour-Carignan
5. Megan Gibbs (Irish Canadians)
6. Heather Jaques (Capilano RFC)
7. Gillian Florence (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC)
8. Kelly Russell (Toronto Nomads)
9. Laura Stoughton (Calgary Irish)
10. Brooke Hilditch (Yeomen Women’s RC)
11. Cheryl Philips (Toronto Scottish RFC)
12. Sarah Ulmer (Saracens)
13. Maria Gallo (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
14. Julianne Zussman (Town of Mount Royal RFC)
15. Ashley Patzer (Lethbridge RFC)
Reserves:
16. Kim Donaldson (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
17. Marlene Donaldson (Velox Valkyries)
18. Paige Burdett (Calgary Irish)
19. Jen Kish (Edmonton Rockers)
20. Barbara Mervin (Velox Valkyries)
21. Julia Sugawara (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
22. Brittany Waters (Meraloma)
England Roster
15 Danielle Waterman Team Northumbria 14 Katherine Merchant Worcester 13 Emily Scarratt Lichfield 12 Alice Richardson Richmond 11 Fiona Pocock Richmond 10 Katy McLean Darlington Mowden Park Sharks 9 Amy Turner Richmond 1 Rochelle Clark Team Northumbria 2 Amy Garnett Saracens 3 Sophie Hemming Bristol 4 Rebecca Essex Richmond 5 Jo McGilchrist Wasps 6 Sarah Hunter Lichfield 7 Heather Fisher Wasps 8 Catherine Spencer © Bristol
Replacements:
16 Olivia Poore Lichfield 17 Katy Storie Team Northumbria 18 Karen Jones Richmond 19 Charlotte Barras Saracens 20 George Rozario Plymouth Albion 21 Rachael Burford Saracens 22 Claire Allan Saracens
USA Roster
1 FARRAH DOUGLAS
2 KITT WAGNER
3 JAMIE BURKE
4 STACEY BRIDGES
5 BECKETT ROYCE
6 MEL DENHAM
7 KRISTIN ZDANCZEWICZ
8 BLAIR GROEFSEMA
9 KIM MAGRINI
10 STEPH BRUCE
11 VICTORIA FOLAYAN
12 MEL KANUK
13 LYNELLE KUGLER
14 ASHLEY KMIECIK
15 CHRISTY RINGGENBERG
16 STACY BAKER
17 LISA BUTTS
18 SHARON BLANEY
19 PHAIDRA KNIGHT
20 CLAUDIA BRAYMER
21 AMY DANIELS
22 ASHLEY ENGLISH
France Roster
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