Canadian women open Rugby World Cup with statement win over Japan

Canada ran in seven tries to open its Women's Rugby World Cup campaign with a comfortable 41-5 win over Japan on Saturday, reeling off 36 straight points to snap an early 5-5 tie at Northland Events Centre in Whangarei, New Zealand.

The bigger Canadian forwards had the advantage in the scrum and lineout, used the driving maul to gain metres at will and pressured the Japanese at the breakdown. The Canadian backs, meanwhile, kicked effectively for territory.

But coach Kevin Rouet will no doubt want his team to eliminate mistakes that stymied other attacks, especially in the second half. Canada was guilty of 16 handling errors and 17 turnovers, compared to nine and eight, respectively, for Japan.

"It was not a pretty game," said the French-born coach, who now calls Quebec City home. "We did the game plan at the beginning. After that I think we could have done a better job. But it's a win."

Hooker Emily Tuttosi scored three tries, scrum half Brianna Miller had a pair and Paige Ferries and Mikiela Nelson added single tries for third-ranked Canada. Captain Sophie de Goede kicked two conversions while Miller booted one.

A stunning hat-trick to kickstart her team's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RWC2021?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RWC2021</a> journey