Canada wins women’s rugby sevens series with 29-10 victory over France

SALT LAKE CITY – Barbara Mervin, Andrea Burk, Frederique Rajotte, Olivia DeMerchant and Latoya Blackwood all scored tries as Canada claimed the 2016 women’s rugby super series with a 29-10 victory over France in the final game of the tournament on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a huge satisfaction,” said Canada’s head coach Francois Ratier, who had to leave the tour early for personal reasons. “We learned from last year and we achieved our goal of getting better throughout the year.

“I am proud of the team and my fantastic staff.”

Canada won its opening two games of the tournament after dominating England 52-17 in their opener before a 33-5 victory over the United States on Tuesday. In its three games, Canada scored 114 points.

“It’s a pretty impressive performance by all of our players in the three games,” said interim senior women’s head coach Shaun Allen. “We showed a lot of heart, a lot of tenacity. Today was as close to a complete performance as we could put together.”

Canada came to life in the 27th minute after what was a lackadaisical opening from both sides — France’s captain Gaelle Mignot with the lone try to give her side a 5-0 lead — as French No. 8 Safi N’Diaye was sent to the bin. Canada strung together more than 20 phases before Mervin grabbed Canada the lead as she touched down with Burk converting.

Burk extended the Canadian lead in the 32nd minute after Blackwood had pierced the French backline, sneaking over in the corner off the back of the breakdown a few phases later before superbly converting her own try to give Canada a 14-5 lead.

Canada ended the half on a high as Rajotte snagged her first test try as she finished off a swift move after the Canadian pack had stolen the French lineout to give Canada a 19-5 edge at the interval.

The second half played out a lot like the first — another Mignot try cutting Canada’s lead to 19-10 — but it wasn’t until the 68th minute Canada got their fourth with Olivia DeMerchant charging over from the breakdown.

Montreal’s Blackwood completed the scoring in the 77th minute as she muscled over to seal an emphatic 29-10 victory.

Canada, which entered the tournament ranked fifth in the world, moved up to fourth after beating England.