Canada coach Kevin Rouet only has eyes on World Cup glory

Canada head coach Kevin Rouet declared only World Cup glory will do after champions New Zealand were crushed 34-19 in Friday’s semi-final at Ashton Gate.

While Canada were far from a long shot to cause an upset against the six-times winners whose last defeat in the tournament came in 2014, no one predicted they could win so emphatically.

Early in the second half they had built a 31-7 lead and having faced down a Black Ferns comeback, they finished strongly.

Now they are targeting the ultimate prize against fellow semi-finalists England or France at Allianz Stadium next Saturday.

“We are hungry as people and we came here to win the World Cup,” Rouet said.

“We said that if you are not coming to the World Cup to win, then don’t come. It won’t be easy but I’m already excited. I want to be in the final already.

“The first half was exciting for us and in the second half when it was tough, the girls were calm and composed. Sometimes that’s something that’s missing in our game.

“I was proud to see the way they played then because it won’t be a perfect 80 minutes but I liked the fact they were relaxed at that time.”

Captain Alex Tessier insisted Canada, who are semi-professional and needed crowd funding to finance their World Cup campaign, are ready to become global champions.

“We’ve graduated from underdogs to dark horses. We’ll see what’s next when we win the title!” Tessier said.

“I’m soaking this win in. It was incredible. There was a whirlwind of emotion after the final whistle. I’m super proud of the girls – we trusted each other and came up with the win.

“We have an eight-day turnaround now and there’s so much will and excitement in this team for the final. We have so much left in the tank.”

New Zealand head coach Allan Bunting admitted the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow.

“Sport is pretty tough sometimes, it can break your heart,” Bunting said.

“I’m gutted for our ladies after all the work that went into this. Lots of love for these ladies – I can’t fault their intent and effort.

“We’ve got lots of family here and there’s our country back home, so there’s been lots on our shoulders. We need to get around each other and love each other.”