Scotland seethe at two TMO decisions as World Cup defeat ensures blockbuster quarter-final

A close contest saw Scotland trail by just two points at the half-hour mark after Rhona Lloyd dived over for Scotland on 22 minutes following McKinley Hunt’s early converted try.

Controversy soon followed as Scotland thought they had thwarted their opponents with a superb display of defensive fortitude, but upon review, Evie Gallagher was sinbinned for tackling whilst off the ground with Canada close to the tryline.

The North Americans made the most of their player advantage, scoring a penalty try immediately after Gallagher was given her temporary marching orders before Emily Tuttosi capped of a move three minutes later that showed Canada at their destructive best.

Then in the second half, Helen Nelson saw her try ruled out for offside after another TMO intervention which would have made the score 26-17 with 20 minutes remaining.

But despite his side not getting the rub of the green in their final Pool B encounter, Easson was pleased with the way Scotland pushed Canada to the limit. They will now face the English next Sunday for a place in the semi-finals.

Scotland ‘stayed in the fight’

“[I’m feeling] frustrated a little bit,” Easson said. “I thought we played really well. We went to tie to tie with the second-best team in the world and I thought we created a lot of opportunities; we stayed in the fight until the end and their work rate was exceptional.

“When you make small errors against one of the top sides in the world, they capitalise. That’s what happened - 10 minutes before half-time [there was] the yellow card and penalty try. I don’t think it was a yellow card. And then Nelson’s disallowed try as well was a bit of a turning point.

“These little things make massive differences. The scoreline doesn’t reflect the game. I thought we stuck in the game, but those small errors let them in.

“We came to qualify for the quarterfinals. We knew this would be a very difficult game for us. We’ve got the quarterfinals; we’re top six in the world so I would say we’re making real progress.”

With both sides heading into the clash in Exeter already assured of qualification to the knockout stages, there was still everything to play for at Sandy Park as the losers knew the spectre of tournament favourites England most likely awaited in the quarter-finals, while the victors could look forward to doing battle with either USA or Australia.

Canada showed the most attacking threat early on as they cut through the Scottish back line with a well-worked move after 10 minutes, only for Florence Symonds’ handling error to stop an almost-certain try being scored. Crucially however, the team in white remained on the front foot, as prop Hunt crashed over to give them the lead.

Scotland bare their teeth

Scotland roared back however and following a tap-and-go under the posts, they worked the ball out wide courtesy of some superb handling and offloads from Lisa Thomson and Rachel McLachlan.

Chloe Rollie didn’t miss the chance to play in Lloyd on this occasion having failed to find her teammate earlier on and the winger duly dived over, before the returning Lisa Cockburn went off with a head injury.

Scotland raided their reserves of grit and determination as Canada pressed for more points, but the team in blue repelled everything that was thrown at them with a clinic of last-ditch tackles, before eventually forcing Hunt to knock on.

The call was greeted with sheer delight from the Scottish pack, but that soon turned to despair as Gallagher was penalised.

Canada capitalised on their attacking reprieve and numerical advantage and were awarded a penalty try from the resultant scrum after Scotland could only stop it via illegal means.

After a strong opening 20 minutes, Scotland began to unravel and Thomson’s restart – which she kicked out on the full to hand the initiative back to Canada – did little to help matters.

From there, Canada showed their ruthless attacking edge, putting together a slick team move that Scotland just couldn’t deal with. Tuttosi may have been the player who scored, reaching over to score, but credit must also go to the brilliant work of Symonds, Justine Pelletier and Sophie de Goede in the build-up.

McGhie leads the charge

Scotland looked invigorated after the break as surging runs from Fran McGhie and Nelson pushed Canada back in their quest to get back into the match.

For all of Canada’s quality, their lack of discipline offered their transatlantic counterparts hope, and whilst Scotland didn’t score directly from the infringements, it allowed them to get a firm grip of proceedings – one they lacked during the first half.

It soon paid dividends as Gallagher burst throw a gap in Canada’s defence in the 51st minute following an excellent build-up phase from Scotland to reduce their arrears, and Nelson’s successful conversion got Scotland back to within one score.

But having dragged themselves back to within touching distance of Kévin Rouet’s side, Scotland relinquished the scoring ground they had just made up through a combination of a penalty and a missed tackle.

Alex Tessier produced a sumptuous kick on the angle to get her side to within five metres of Scotland’s tryline before Tuttosi barged past Sarah Bonar to dot down for her second score.

Although down, Scotland refused to accept they were out as Nelson side-stepped her way over the tryline after Elis Martin bypassed the lineout, but a TMO review once again went against the Scots as the flyhalf saw her effort chalked off for offside.

Scotland’s misery was compounded by Brittany Kassil who powered over soon after thanks to a series of leg drives, and De Goede’s third conversion extended Canada’s buffer to 21 points.

Scotland were determined to fight to the bitter end in front of the 14,003-strong crowd, and McGhie’s sixth World Cup try capped off a 15-phase move, but Olivia DeMerchant made sure Canada has the last word by scoring her side’s sixth try late on.

With more than 400,000 tickets already sold, and prices starting at just £5 for children and £10 for adults, fans are encouraged to secure their tickets now via tickets.rugbyworldcup.com