De Merchant leads Canada to victory

By Harry Scott-Munro
2/11/21

It was first blood to Exeter Chiefs’ Canadian contingent in their first Pacific Four match with the USA, as Olivia de Merchant captained her country to a 15-9 victory in Glendale.

Canada opened the scoring when Renee Gonzalez - on debut for her country - finished a quick move up the right wing to put her side 5-0 up. 

The USA, however, responded with a successful penalty from Megan Foster to cut the lead to 5-3, before flanker Karin Paquin extended the Canadian advantage just before half-time when she capitalised on some sustained pressure from her side to dart over the try-line. Sophie de Goede converted to extend her side’s lead.

In the second half, the USA - who included the Chiefs trio of Kate Zackary, Rachel Johnson and Gabby Cantorna in their starting line-up, struck back with two Megan Foster penalties, before de Goede added another penalty to keep the hosts at arm’s length.

Hunting for a crucial try, the USA continued to hammer the Canadian line, only for the Canadian defence to hold firm, 

Speaking at full-time, Canadian captain De Merchant - who was joined in the starting line-up by club-mates Emily Tuttosi and DaLeaka Menin - was full of praise for the impact of her side’s bench throughout the match.

“It’s really great to be on the field again together," she said. "I think we started strong, we finished strong, the subs came on and they really lit up the field and held their own, so it’s really great to see that strength in depth for our team.”

Reflecting on defeat for her own side, fellow Chief and USA captain Zackary felt her side didn’t show their full potential, but was proud of how the new caps fared on debut.

“It’s been a long year without any fans in sight, so thank you to all the fans that came out," said the No.8. "We probably showed 70% of what we’ve been working on, so going into Friday, there’s still lots of room for improvement. There were a few too many penalties but I’m super proud of everyone. There’s some young blood coming in now too, which is awesome.”