Halford & Brough in the Morning - Canada Women's Rugby Is On A Historic Run

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest hockey news with NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:20), plus they speak with Squidge Rugby's Will Owen (27:35), as Canada tries for their first-ever Women's Rugby World Cup title on Saturday versus England.  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Frank. Sarah Valley. Sierra Valley. Syravelli. Syravelli. Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank.

Frank. Frank. 7.022 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday. everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford Brubb of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks.

Visit them online at sands-trustee.com. We are now an hour two of the program. As the music suggests, Frank Cerr Valley, our NHL Insider, is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off Hour 2. Hour 2 of this program is brought to by Jason hominock at Jason. Dot Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop.

around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason. Dom Mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintech studio, Kintech footwear and orthotics, working together with you in step. Our next guest is a presentation of Angry Otter Licker, and he comes courtesy the Power West Industries hotline. Frank Sarvelli joins us here now live on the Halford and Breff Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Frank. How are you? What's up, boys? Not much. We are eagerly anticipating the start of the regular season. Just a few more days and weeks of the preseason. 13 days. That's it. Just counting them down.

We are wondering if and or what the Canucks might do over these next 13 days. This management group in the past has, at times, they have a history of making some moves either prior to or right at the start of the season to address some areas of need. So I ask you, Frank, are you hearing anything? Anything on the Canucks front with regards to search to a second line center, maybe another forward position, any additions or any moves in the hopper? Nothing imminent, as far as I can tell. Look, I think they're always on the prowl.

I think they're always, to your point, willing to be aggressive and particularly view this period in these next 13 days or so as rosters are getting set to really go over with a fine-tooth comb, any opportunities that might exist. It's not going to be likely anything that is headline-grabbing, but I do think that they're going to pay very close attention into the waiver wire and see which forwards might pop up that that could slide in and do the job. And that part, let's see what happens because they're ready to pounce.

I'm curious about a couple of guys that aren't at training camp right now. Two RFAs in particular, both of whom have been tied to Vancouver for entirely different reasons. But it's Mason McTavish and Anaheim and Luke Hughes in New Jersey. Let's start with McTavish and Anaheim. Do you have any updates there? no the two sides this is now day seven of training camp so this is the seventh day that he's missed and same thing with luke hughes um the two sides have come to an agreement or have circled a term so a number of years okay um it is not a short-term deal and particularly with mctavish they just

remain pretty far apart on what that AAV looks like. Now, as a result of their mismatch in AAV, does that ultimately end up changing the term that they were thinking if they can't find common ground? And with Luke Hughes, they're looking, both sides have been looking at long-term numbers, but that with the rising salary cap becomes a lot more difficult to pinpoint. So they're both at a bit of a standstill. They've been working hard at it. No one wants to be missing camp, but at the same time, without a contract to play on,

there's no reason to show up. And so, look, there's some other elements that go with the Luke Hughes negotiation. It's also not just about dollars. Part of the conversation, as Jack alluded to at his player media tour, is also deployment. what that looks like from a usage perspective because that could potentially change what his stats look like moving forward.

Can you expand on that a little bit more? I wasn't aware that that was also part of the, not necessarily the negotiation, but the situation with Luke Hughes in New Jersey. Yeah. So Jack had made a very clear point at player media tour to say he needs, you know, he's ready to play consistent power play one minutes. it's not often that you hear kind of the specificity of that but that is part of it is him saying he's ready to do that

and ready to bite that you know chew that those minutes for them whether or not the devil's agree and what that looks like in terms of where his stats may go from here I think is an interesting question we're speaking to Frank Sarah Valley our NHL insider here on the Halford & Brough Show on sports next six is there something we could fan here? Can we fan the flames of something here? They seem emboldened. Because everyone else's been fanning

the flames of the Quinn Hughes situation of Vancouver can we fan those flames? Is there anything there, Frank? I don't think so. There's two of them there and one of them in van, so I don't know. This is just a personality thing with Jack though, right? Like he seems like he's not afraid to say

either what's on his mind or push back against something or he just seems like the most outspoken of the three. I'm not saying necessarily necessarily in a bad way, but if anything quotable is going to come from one of the three brothers, it feels like Jack's going to be the guy that's going to drop it. Yeah, his give-a-bleet meter is not very high when it comes to expressing how he feels. I want to turn our attention to Edmonton now, so they're waiting for the big deal to get done

at Evanton. That's the Connor McDavid business. But they got some other business done, extending Facilipod-Coles in yesterday. What's next for the Oilers, Frank? well pod colton getting done was definitely a key focal point for stan bowman they really liked what he brought and how well-rounded his game was the stats were kind of one thing eight goals 16 assists for 24 points it was really more so what he brought to whatever line he was playing on with edmonton's top end players particularly the back pressure that they felt that he just made everything work and go and provided their stars some additional flexibility with the way that he also helped defend. So pure effort player, which I don't know that back when he was drafted, we probably thought

that that would be the case or his past to become a full-time quality NHL player. But I think credit to him for finding if you can't be a goal score in this league, what else is it that you bring to the table? He accomplished that. So two times three or three times three nine two nine five. I'm getting my numbers all messed up. Three times two nine five, just shy of three a year. That's done. And now they've set their sights on trying to extend Jake Wallman. They're looking or would like to accomplish a long term extension. I don't think that they're necessarily close, but it is definitely on their to do list. to get their key trade deadline acquisition from last year locked up.

That would be a big part of Stan Bowman's plan as we all kind of sit and wait and twiddle our thumbs with what's going on with Connor McDavid. Let's jump around here to a couple other things. Carter Hart, what's the latest on, not his contract situation because he's not eligible to sign until October, but what are you hearing about where he might sign? Yeah, there's a number of suitors.

I would say somewhere a small hand. full, three, four, five teams that, I think the number of teams that are interested is larger than that. I think he has been pretty clear and focused on what he's looking for, a team playing in the U.S., a team hopefully with a chance to win and also opportunity. So he's likely to sign a two-year deal when it's all set and done. And a couple of the teams that have been in the mix include the kind of. Carolina Hurricanes for not just Carter Hart, but also Michael McLeod, also part of the acquitted

party from the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault trial. And also with Carter Hart, the Vegas Golden Knights have been in the mix. I believe the Utah mammoths have expressed interest. I can't officially and formally rule out the Nashville Predators. So there's a number of teams that have been, you know, involved in those conversations and just a refresher on timeline for everyone listening, October 1st is the first date that they can sign. October 15th, they could begin training with the team, and then it's not before December 1st. So December 1st would be eligible to then return to the lineup. How comfortable is Edmonton going to be heading into another season with Stuart Skinner

and Calvin Pickard. Personally, I don't think they should be very comfortable. I think when we've seen the Oilers at their worst, and this also holds true for a lot of teams to be fair, they're not getting the goaltending required to be an elite team. I think we've seen a large enough sample size with Stuart Skinner, and that's not to say, hey, he's not any good or his career's over or whatever.

I just think he needs better support that can also come from in front of him, but I think it means to me in tandem, where there isn't so much pressure on him every single night, it seems, or where he's playing 55, 60 games a season, that's probably not what the split should be. It should be closer to 50-50 if they had another quality goaltender in there. And again, not a knock on Pickard. What he's done to resurrect his career is nothing short of impressive. and by the way, a really, really well-liked guy in that Edmonton locker room for some of the spots that he's been put in and the way that he's delivered. But this is supposed to be a championship caliber team, and with that, yes, there are cap considerations and they can't necessarily pay a backup goalie or a tandem guy, an incredible amount of money that has to be within reason, but I think they can do better than what they've had.

and I think they've engaged in various discussions or thought processes on terms of how to fix that I don't think that this market this year was particularly helpful to them maybe feeling some of what the Canucks have been feeling with that you see, hey, we want to improve this position but nothing has really been out there that's made us excited. What else do you think the Oilers are discussing when it comes to keeping this team a Stanley

Cup contender and keeping Connor McDavid because it's easy to say, oh, you got to get younger, you got to get, you got to get more prospects, but that's easier said than done when you are going to Stanley Cup finals and you are to a certain extent mortgaging the future. Have you thought of any creative ways that they're going to be able to keep this team competitive? I mean, it's always going to be competitive if you got McDavid and dry saddle. But I just think about a guy like Matthias Ekholm, who is such a good defenseman. But now he's 35, his health isn't great, he's a pending on restrictive free agent, like replacing that, it's not easy.

And they're going to have to do it to a bunch of really good forwards as well. I think about like how many good years does Zach Hyman have left, for example. What have you heard on that front? Well, I think they've tried to get as creative as possible. I mean, let's just recap quickly their summer in terms of, young pieces. They trade for Ike Howard and trading away a pre-quality prospect in Sam O'Reilly, who is just going to take a bit longer. So they're trying to get more immediate help in someone that they view as an NHL-ready prospect in Ike Howard. They have now graduated Matt Savoy to

the NHL after incubating in Bakersfield for a year. They went out and while everyone was sitting on a beach during the Four Nations face-off last spring, or in February, Stan Bowman was in Sweden trying to sign to Moshek, who led the league in scoring. And so he's going to be

a focal point of their lineup. Not a guarantee, but when you can go out and add these types of players and try and, you know, turn over every stone possible to do it, sometimes you hit, sometimes you don't,

but you mention creative ways. Like, they're trying. They're making the effort to do it. it because they need to, it's not just we need younger, more bodies, we need guys that also fit our cap pitcher that aren't going to make a ton. So that's the type of path that they're looking for is trying to go down a bunch of different avenues to see if they can find some results and maybe dig up a diamond in the rough. What are your expectations for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season? And could they be active in trades leading up to the season?

I do think they're going to be active. I mean, by nature, Brad Tree Living is always active. He's always looking. But I think the larger part for me has been trying to focus on what those expectations for this team are. And I've struggled with that a bit because they have lost an incredible piece in Mitch Marner. They've added some depth out, which should hopefully better balance out the roster is what they're looking for. But I don't know if this is an oversimplification on my part. I feel like so much of this Toronto season is going to come down to which Austin Matthews

are we seeing. Are we seeing the guy who was the 69 goal score or Hart Trophy winner who looked like a threat anytime he frankly was walking in the building? Or are we talking about a guy who essentially limped to the finish line last year and was hobbled by what we presume to be a back injury that appears to be chronic going back to no one's refuted that going back to even his 18 year old season in Switzerland and a 30 plus goal score not that there's anything wrong with that but when you lose someone like marner and also what is the effect of not having marner feed you Pucks because the distinction I believe between Matthew's with and without Marner is pretty significant.

Others around the Leafs, or depending on who you talk to, say it's not as big of a deal as you might imagine. I just think they've got a lot of ground to make up. And with that, that's going to help determine, I think, the flow of this team's season. Are they a shorefire playoff team? I think they're in a pretty good spot. but I don't think that this team is going to coast the way that they might happen other times best.

Let's keep it in the Atlantic Division here. The Tampa Bay Lightning. So Andre Vasselowski's missed four straight days of camp and there's not a lot of information coming out as to why or what's going on. Do you have anything on what's happening with Vassowski and the Tampa Bay Lightning? I really don't. It's kind of caught me and probably many others by surprise. I can't even really begin to speculate on what's,

happening? We have a texter in here, Paul in the Okinaw and formerly the Sunshine Coast. If you have time ask Frank about the Flyers. Yeah, I'm curious what the vibe is coming out of the early days of Flyers camp. There's obviously got to be sort of new energy with Rick Taka behind the bench. I am curious, and we talked

about this last week, what the club's goaltending is going to look like with all these goalie stories that are going on around the NHL. So I guess the two-party here, what's the latest out of Flyers camp and how are they looking in that? Well, definitely a different feel and vibe. with Rick Tocket here.

I think he's someone that is really intentioned on what he'd like to accomplish. And part of that is restoring the type of hockey that he wants to see the Flyers play, their work ethic, and their compete. Because I think John Tortorella tried to put bits and pieces of that in. A lot of it came down to personnel. And I think some of it, he's going to have definitely some issues trying to accomplish what he'd like to because they just don't have the goods. That said, Dan Vlodar should be able to hold down the fort in conjunction with Sam

Erson to give them, I mean, if you look over the last four years, if they're not 32nd and they're 31st and goaltending, and it has been a major issue for this team, and that's still like broken records saying that, they still don't have, you know, even even in their pipeline. And that's where I really struggle with the long-term view of the flyers. No franchise goalie, no franchise defenseman, no franchise center. When you think about building a team, it's hard to do it. It's hard to really look far into the future when those pieces remain such big question marks. 13 days left in the exhibition campaign. Only seven more days until we talk again, Frank. Thanks a lot for doing this today. We really appreciate it.

Thanks, guys. Have a good one. Yeah, buddy. Thanks. That's Frank Sarvalley, a presentation of Angry Otter Liquor here on SportsNet 650 plus program members save for game days at Angry Otter Liquor. This month, Jason, check this out, six bucks off an old style Pilsner 15 pack. Ooh. That's a good deal. The little yellow bunny. Yeah. Those Angry Otters, you know what? They're angry, but they're good businessman. They give you good savings. Find more savings online at Angry Otterlicker.c.cr.S. a text into the Dunbar-Lumber text line we were talking about Rick Tocke in Philly this one's about Adam Foot in Vancouver said not sure if you guys discuss this

but I'm curious to get your thoughts on Adam Foote saying the Canucks won't have a permanent style and that they'll adapt to the opponent as far as style is concerned I feel this is a text you're saying I feel like the teams that win cups are the teams that play their style

100% of the time. Yes, I generally agree with that sentiment, too. You know, the Florida Panthers are going to play Florida Panthers. What does that say about the Canucks? And Adam Foote said, you know, if we play a big heavy team, maybe we play a certain style, if we play a smaller, speedier team, maybe we play a certain style. I think it's the acknowledgement that the Canucks are not the Florida Panthers. And the Canucks maybe won't be able to dictate the game in all games that they play.

Quinny Hughes has said it multiple times. There's another interview he's got up with iMac on Sportsnet.ca, where he kind of says, like, look, we're not the most talented team in the world, but I think we can play as a team, and that's how we're going to have to do things. And when you have that type of team, sometimes you do have to adapt to opponents. And sometimes you have to look at the other team and say, guys, on paper, these guys are a better team. So are we going to match them? Just say like, well, okay, well, we're going to bring our best against your best and we'll sell, well, that would be stupid, right?

Oh, you've got to come with a specific strategy for that. Yeah, it's to be. And you're going to adapt to that team. And it's an acknowledgement, I think, of what the Connects roster is. It's tactics, what your, the texter is talking about and identity. And those two things don't have to be opposed, right? I think a lot of times when we parse through what a coach is trying to explain, we try and look at it in very black and white or A versus B, like through that prism.

I get that the best teams, and this is across all sports, this isn't just the NHL, have a real strong identity in terms of what they want to do and what they want to accomplish, right? That kind of goes without saying. But in the case of Florida Panthers, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, they want to play a very aggressive, hard, heavy four-checking style, and they have the players to do it, and they've homed it very well. You go to other, and I think the NFL, it's really tied into identity sometimes,

too, maybe past iterations of teams, right, where you have like the steel curtain on defense or great linebacking corps, the Legion of Boom. And sometimes the identity of those teams actually does change, like the Kansas City Chiefs. I know most people are like, yeah, their identity is Patrick Mahomes. but like they didn't get to the Super Bowl last year by razzle-dazzle. Right. Do you know what I mean? They were a strong defensive unit last year.

They were a strong defensive team. I think what Foot is talking about here is maybe a nod to something that happened a lot last year that people griped about it. And I brought it up on the air numerous times when we came in after a game, especially when we played Rick Talk at Audio, was whenever the Kinnock's were faced with a problem, specifically when it came to General, offense, the answer was always like, do what we're doing, but do it better. Execute more executor harder, right? Execute harder. That was often the response. And it was when a team maybe figured out what you were doing, did you have a counterpunch

in your bag, in your arsenal? And I think that's what what's trying to say here is that you need to be able to adapt to whatever an opponent is throwing at you. That can be part of your identity. Are you like the chameleon type team? Maybe. Maybe. I like it. Let's do it. The problem with that is that it's very difficult to pull off

because you have to have very cerebral players on the ice to do it. They have to be able to read different situations. They have to be adaptable. And they have to take instruction in a short period of time and execute it. Like I think that's a great point because I think when Tocke took the job, what they needed was a coach that was going to be a bit of a taskmaster that was going to simplify things for them. Yeah.

Right? I think about a guy like Tyler Myers, right? Simplify his game, but that can only get you so far. And I think, talk and acknowledge that, and he said, okay, we're going to have some, we're going to have to change some things. And he went into last season and said, okay, we're going to work on some stuff on the rush. And, you know, it didn't work out because of, you know, some of the personnel on the back end. Sure.

wasn't there, and some of the players up front weren't playing up to their best. They didn't have a star goalie? He didn't have a star goalie. And maybe the plan wasn't great. Maybe there needed to be a better plan. Who knows? But it didn't work.

But I think simplification was step one for the Canucks, but they were always going to need to evolve. Yes. They just, they evolved unfortunately into a dysfunctional mess. Well, okay, here's the other. I know we're up against it for time. More devolved.

But here's the thing. Timing matters a lot in these situations, a lot. I think that after year one of success, everyone in the organization, top to bottom, and I'm talking like the highest reaches the organization right down to the guys on the bench and behind it thought that it was go time. So we need to evolve and we need to take this next step right away. And it was a bridge too far. It was too much. they radically tried to change their approach

year after year and I think the worst part and the biggest failing was that as soon as it didn't work they didn't have the courage to stand by those convictions and just went back to what they were doing the year before

so if that was the idea that this was only going to be we were only going to stick with this if it worked right away you probably just sort of leaned into your identity for a second year anyway I think a lot of things would have gone differently to be honest

I think talking might have still been the head coach in Vancouver if that was the case it's possible if Vancouver played a more or like tighter to the vest, low event style, and snuck their way

into the playoffs last year, with a regression in points but still made the postseason with everything that went on injury-wise, I do wonder if talk, it would still be the coach here. Who knows? We're going to talk a little rugby.

Will Owen from Squidge Rugby is going to join us next because Canada, and women's national team, is playing England, Saturday morning our time, 8 a.m., Twickenham Stadium,

one of the cathedrals of world rugby and they're playing them in the final of the women's rugby World Cup. How has Canada not generally considered a rugby power done it? We'll talk a little rugby coming up next on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Before we go to break, I need to tell you about JanPro from warehouses to washrooms and everywhere in between JanPro keeps workplaces tidy, clean and disinfected for a free quote. Visit them online at janpro.ca.

Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks Talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. 734 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford and Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Alfred and Brough in the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Get out of the penalty box of debt back into the game with a financial fresh start.

Visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We are in now in our two of the program. Will Owen from Squidge Rugby is going to join us in just a moment here to talk about the Canadian women's rugby team, taking on hosts. England in the championship game of the Women's Rugby World Cup. Saturday 8 a.m. our time. Highlight of hour two.

Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason Homanoch at jason. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason. Dot mortgage. To the Power West Industries hotline, we go. Our next guest is the co-host of the Squidge Rugby YouTube channel. Will Owen joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650.

Morning, Will. How are you? Hey. Hey guys, really great to chat to you. I'm very well, thank you. How are you? We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We're very excited to talk to you today about this Canadian women's rugby team that is caught everyone by storm and in part by surprise for what they've done at the women's rugby World Cup. For those that are unaware, they breeze through Group B, Pool B, three victories outscoring their opponents, 147 to 26.

That's to our one listener who the other day asked what their point differential is. They beat Australia, they beat New Zealand, now they're taking on England in the women's rugby World Cup final. So my first question, very long-winded will, is how has Canada been able to accomplish this? It's a true miracle in a way because they've crowdfunded their way to this tournament and they are a mostly amateur team but full of, and you know, the main thing is they have so many world-class players across the park. But ultimately, I think the kind of the centerpiece of this is, their coach, Kevin Ruei, has done an incredible job and made them play. What I think, and I've been watching rugby for decades at this point, they are the fastest rugby team that I've ever seen in my life.

That's men's or women's. The speed of which they move up the field is incredible. And that's not just the speed of which the players, the athletes actually run at. That is when they get tackled, they're the quickest to reset the ball, to get it back so they can start playing again. So the oppositions find it really difficult to keep up with the way that they play. It's super, super exciting to watch, and we've got so many incredible players, the likes of Sophie de Goody, who have got them to this incredible point.

So the speed factor, is that a tactical thing from the coach, or is that based on personnel and the speed of the individual players? It's a little bit of both, for sure, because in order to speed up the games, so for anyone who doesn't watch much rugby, what is called a ruck is what happens after a player has been tackled. And so the way that they speed this ruck up, i.e. how quickly they can have another phase so they can attack with the ball again is dependent on, A, how fast this kind of supporting players can arrive, and B, how strong they are, we're getting rid of people trying to

steal the ball off them. And so in that case, it's personnel based. So it's based on how skillful they are in terms of being able to get that ball ready, nice and quickly. And they've got a player called Justine Peltier, who is kind of like, in a way like the quarterback, like the pacemaker for anyone who's not watching much rugby, plays in positions called Scrum Half, where she just plays the ball away insanely fast because the team are able to do this. But because they're able to do that, the coach, as you mentioned there, it is a tactical thing that they've doubled down on. And occasionally it means that they have to try and set an attack before they're necessarily

even ready or the opposition's even ready, as sometimes is the case. And it's a risky play because often if most teams try to do this, it would mean they drop the ball or they're not quite ready to play. but this Canadian team are so incredibly well drilled that they are always ready, even at a split second notice, to run some kind of attacking play. You must have to be extremely fit and extremely sure-handed to pull off a strategy like this. A hundred percent, and I think that that's the biggest thing Canada have in their favor going into the finals. So the England team that they're playing against have won.

I think it's 32 games on the bounce, sort of won every single. single game consecutively since the last World Cup final, which they lost, but every game since then they've won. And they are an incredibly well-drilled team. And they probably will go into this game as favourites, but I do think this Canadian strategy is what will propel them. And it's honestly that Canada has a real shot at winning this game. I'm really excited. I spent this whole last three years thinking no one could beat England, no one ever will. And the last two or three weeks, I've looked at this Canadian team and gone, oh, I genuinely think they can do it because, as you say, it's really difficult to keep up with. And the crucial thing about that

is England will have never played against a team that play at this speed before. Because no one in rugby has, because they've never existed before now, in any form of rugby, men's or women's. So I don't know how England are going to be preparing for this Canadian team in the week, in their training, practice leading up to this. Tell us about the pressure that's on England to get a championship because I know the women have won one before, but they've lost two straight finals and then on the men's side, spring box. I thought they were going to win a few, a while ago, but they haven't been able to get it done either. Now you've got this game at Twickenham against Canada. I mean, you better win that one. A hundred percent because as you mentioned

there, England have won one men's World Cup and won women's World Cup before, and obviously they're an incredibly proud rugby nation you know rugby was invented in england you know so that's and they've got kind of the biggest resources you know that they've got such a huge kind of database of of players to pick from and all that sort of thing and they were the first team to properly go ahead and professionalize women's rugby and i definitely think they'll be looking in them themselves if they lose to what is you know on paper an amateur team but i don't think i think it'll be short-sighted for us to refer to canada in those sorts of terms because they have shown throughout this World Cup

and for many, many years now, you know, they made the final of the one the one that England won in 2014 so there'll be a bit of a revenge factor there but they have shown ever since then that, you know, in reality they are nothing but truly professional. But yeah, there is definite pressure on England

having lost the previous one which was really unexpected. They had a red card within the first 20 minutes of that game which really helped New Zealand and their style of play to run around and score a few tries and win the game from there. But since then, England, all they have been thinking about is this game on Saturday

and how do we redeem ourselves and get to that final World Cup moment that we can lift the trophy. And in the last hurdle, as it were, Canada are propping that up and have posed kind of the biggest threat to England winning that title. Tell us about the atmosphere at Twickenham for a big rugby match. It's great. It's really, really, really. exciting. I think, especially on Saturday, it's completely

sold out event for this final. It was sold out very early into tickets going on sale for it. It's a world record for a women's game. And I think for a women's rugby game, I much prefer the atmosphere for that than to a men's game. I think a lot of people are there for

the occasion and so on and can really, really take it in, but also the fans are extremely passionate. And also, it's double-edged. So the players are incredibly passionate about the fans, because a lot of them on both sides, or every team at this World Cup, frankly, have played in front of crowds that are in, you know, single or double figures.

And now to be looking at 60,000-plus people packed into Twickenham for a final, that atmosphere is going to be really, really special. Women's sport is really having a moment in England. I mean, the lionesses has been very successful on the soccer side, and now you've got them hosting a women's World Cup and England going into the final as favour. What's that been like to cover? Really, really cool.

I think the great thing is, as a rugby analyst, as I am, I've noticed that in this World Cup, there's been less talk about, ironically, the stuff I was just on about, about just like crowd numbers and all that sort of stuff, which is brilliant and worth celebrating. But I think it's now reached a point where it feels much more normal, and so we can talk about the rugby, and we can talk about stuff like what Canada is doing

with their ball speed and all that sort of stuff. And as much as I love talking about the occasion of it all, it is really, really nice that I think it's reached a point now where everyone's used to that and everyone expects that. And now we can just enjoy that and talk about the rugby in the same way that we would about the men's team, you know? Yeah, it gets beyond, hey, hey, good for them. And then you could actually like, you can actually analyze.

And, you know, when we talk about women's soccer or even women's ice hockey over here, you know, they're allowed to be like villains. There's allowed to be like, you know, a good team and a bad team. And it's, and that's what's needed because that's what you need in sports. It has to get past like it's great that they're participating. Yeah, 100%. And I think that brings up more passionate people, you know.

Like I don't have to make any secret about the fact that even though it's good to be, you know, I like to be impartial in my job when I'm being professional, but as a sheer rugby fan, and you'll be pleased to hear this, I'm cheering for Canada on the weekend, and I don't have to feel bad about the fact I say that anymore, you know, because I can be really passionate, and everyone can be

really passionate about the teams that they support and wanting them to do well. We do have to mention, you mentioned it off the top, but part of this story about Canada is the fact that this is a group of amateur players that crowdfunded their way in large part to this Women's World Cup, and that brings up a lot of different storylines about the performance

professionalism of the game and getting leagues up and going and are the players being adequately compensator in this case are they going to continue to need to do this to get to these big tournaments in the highest levels where is the state of the women's game maybe not necessarily on the international stage but in the semi or semi professional or semi professional stage with regards to playing rugby full time yeah I think there's a lot of different kind of um it depends where in the world you go really so in England there's we've got competition called Premiership Women's Rugby or a PWR, as we call it, where, and that's the highest kind of level of rugby in the world, and that's kind of semi-pro.

England have done this really well, so they've targeted getting a certain number of full-time professionals, and this is kind of the main reason why they're such an unstoppable machine at international level is because they've then looked at getting a semi-pro league just below that, where, so they have like hundreds of players who are capable of playing a professional level of rugby, who can then step up if it turns out, you know, you find a secret, a hidden talent somewhere. The French league that's called the Feminate Earn, that's also a really high standard. Unfortunately, not really televised in both of our parts of the world, so quite difficult to watch. And also in New Zealand and Australia, they've got a good standard

of what they call super rugby over there. So in those kind of areas, you've got a really good standard of club rugby, but you do often find that in some of the other big nations in the world, players have to sign for a team in those areas. So there's a really high profile player that, you know, a lot of people who are listening might have heard of called Alona Marr from America

who's really big on TikTok and social media and so on. So she had to sign for a team called Bristol Bears to get some good game time before this World Cup because there isn't that high of a standard of club rugby in America, 15th and club rugby in America. So she's had to

player over here in the UK, and most of the Canadian players, rather, are playing over here. So the likes of Sophie de Goody, the captain Alex Tessier, a lot of them are playing in that Premiership Women's Rugby in England. It's funny. I actually have, as a Canadian, I actually have mixed feelings about the professionalization of women's rugby because I think the professionalization of men's rugby has really hurt our men's national team. I mean, we used to be able to at least.

hold our own against some of the better rugby nations and I know we've qualified again for the for the World Cup but I think it's an expanded field now this is not my expertise but you know I I do think the professionalization of rugby has hurt Canada because we're not giving the resources that we can to the to the men's side and I think we've seen the results on a world stage yeah I don't think that's an unfair thing to say you know I think that is fair enough I've seen that there's been some people saying that the Canadian men's team, and much like yourself, I really miss watching the really competitive Canadian men's teams of like the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups.

I think they're one of my favourite rugby nations, to be honest, and one of my favourite teams to watch is always a Canadian men's team. And I have seen some people saying that, you know, the women's team doing so well has almost compromised the men's team a little bit. And I suppose, I guess the counter-argument that some people would make would be, How many times have this been the other way around? You know, a men's team doing well has compromised, a women's team that they've then not had the funding or whatever. But you're right, it's a really difficult one for Canada.

It's kind of a difficult position for them to be in where the women's team are potentially world beating. They are looking at a World Cup final, whereas the men's team obviously didn't qualify for the last World Cup. And we'll be delighted, as I'm delighted, to see them back in the next World Cup in 2027 in Australia. So, yeah, I hope they find a way through it. But, yeah, I really enjoy watching both teams. So fingers firmly crossed for them. A ton of positive feedback on this segment, Will. For our listeners that might not be familiar with Squid Rugby,

can you let them know how to follow you on social and things to follow you on YouTube as well? Yeah, absolutely. So on YouTube, we are, there's two channels, one called Squidge Rugby, another one called More Squidge Rugby, where you want to, if you want to see like breakdowns of rugby games, we've covered every single game of this swimming's rugby world cup

and we aim to cover as many rugby games as we physically can and do analysis on them moving forward on socials just at Squidge Rugby or you can find myself on Instagram and Twitter on at Will underscore Owen 9 Will this was great enjoy Saturday it should be a lot of fun thanks for doing this

likewise I hope Canada to bring it home thanks Will we do too we appreciate it thank you it's Will Owen from Squidge Rugby's YouTube channel here on the Halford and Breff Show on Sports Night 650. If we have more time, I would have asked them what it was like to pivot to a full-time rugby content creator and then becoming one of the largest rugby channels in the world

because it's such a, I guess you can't classify it as a niche sport because in certain areas of the world, it's absolutely not niche. It's massive. Yeah. But it varies so much. And it's not like,

it's not like soccer in a global sense. Everyone plays it. But there are such, varying degrees to which certain nations played, I guess that's what it is. That's the big one. And that's the concern on the men's side, right? Yeah. The, the Canada used to be able to hold their own. And now, if they're going to play the all blacks or England or South Africa, the rugby world cop, it's going to be a blowout, like more likely than not. And it's unfortunate. I mean, it's, it's, it's a funding issue and it's, it's, uh, it's, uh, the performance

professionalization of the game just offers those opportunities and we've seen in every level. But let's focus on this women's side right now. And it's going to be for me, as a personal anecdote, it's going to be a very confusing weekend because I'm going to wake up on Saturday morning and I'm going to be cheering hard against England. And then the Ryder Cup is going to take over my feet and I'm going to be cheering for every English golfer. That's fair. extremely hard. Have you seen the gamesmanship, by the way, that's been started at the World Cup? I absolutely love it.

So my feed has been inundated with that. And also the Brandl Schambly ripping Bryson Deschambeau. Did you see that? I did not. So Bryson was asked about his quote-unquote feud with Rory McElroy. Okay. And that was them not talking at the Masters when Rory won it. They were paired together.

and Bryson was asked after he's like, you know, did you talk? He's like, you didn't say a word to me. Yeah. Now, I wish I had the audio because it almost speaks for herself. Damn, I blew it. I didn't forward the audio.

I'll try and paraphrase it as best as possible. And Brandl hates Bryson because he went to live. Very clearly hates him. He hates all the guys that went to live. Bryson de Chambot started off his answer in addressing the Rory McElroy feud. And then obviously how they're going to go head-to-head USA, Europe at the Ryder Cup,

by talking about his number one priority. priority is to inspire young golfers and kid golfers through YouTube. And it was a very strange answer, even for me, who doesn't pay a ton of attention to golf, because I was like, it feels like you should be focused on other things right now, like either the tour on which you play golf or the Ryder Cup. And that your number one priority in your leading answer is that you want to try to inspire young golfers with your YouTube channel. And so Brandl Shambly went on and said, like, this is a crazy thing to be saying ahead

in this tournament, that instead of he's a captain's nightmare because he just doesn't relate to a team. And that's the thing about the Ryder Cup is that the thing that I find most interesting about it has nothing to do with golf. It's that you have to take guys that are so wired to be individualistic

at their sport and then say, hey, can you now become a member of a team? And you almost have to teach some of these guys what that means. Because golf is designed for you, the individual. And you're playing against the course.

Yes, you've got the field. But I think a lot of the guys, their job or the objective is to block out everything. Block out who they're playing against. Block out the guys in their for some. Block out the guy that's chasing. There is no one on your team. There's nothing. Except your caddy.

And suddenly you get thrown into it where it really matters what the guys around you were doing. And you have to, in a way, let your guard down. The Ryder Cup is a lot about vibes. It is. You can feel it on the course. You can feel momentum changes. and man this is going to be electric and I got a laugh out of

so there's also a story about the Americans are getting paid they call it a stipend but they're getting paid a certain amount of money it's $500,000 $300,000 is already earmarked for charity okay and then they were said

they said basically okay you got $200,000 to do whatever you want with it now a lot of people don't think that you should be paid anything to participate at the rider cup yeah and that should be an honor and that's the tact that the Europeans have taken and they're trying to play it up they're trying to play it up and I know we got to go to break that's fine but I want to play because it's so funny because the Europeans are like we're not taking money we do it for pride and we and Roy has famously said like I would pay to play in the rider cup and The Americans have kind of, I don't want to say they were pressured into going, like, you know that extra $200,000?

That's also going to charity. Right. But they've all kind of said it. They were like online bullied into doing it. And also guys probably. Which is how charity should work, really. Yeah, you should be bullied into, like I think a lot of guys would have given it away anyway. Like, Scotty Schaeffler's not a super greedy guy.

But the Europeans and their captain is Luke Donald, who's an Englishman, who went to school in the United States. He has American friends, but he's kind of leaning into it, and he's kind of suggesting, like, yeah, we're more of like the pure kind of like, we're doing it just for the pride. And I loved how we put this here. I think he's talking to Sky Sports here. Yeah, this came up and I wanted to get ahead of it and, you know, talk to the 12 guys in Rome, you know, when it looked like the U.S. were going to do something different with payments. And, you know, every one of them was just like, no, we don't want to.

want to play. This isn't a week to get paid. You know, we have such a strong purpose in this team, what we play for. And, you know, to be honest, we reinvest some of that money back into the experience of these guys, you know, and I feel like if you have those experiences that you remember for the rest your life, that's worth more than a couple hundred thousand dollars in the back of your pocket. So, you know, for me, I was very proud of the guys, you know, I think the ideals of, you know, how this Ryder Cup was set up back in the 20s by Samuel Ryder. I think he would have been proud to. But he wouldn't have been proud of the Americans.

It's a great positioning. Yeah, yeah. To position them as the big, ugly, greedy Americans is great. You know what he's hoping for? It's not that hard to do either. He's hoping the New York crowd turns against the Americans. Yeah. Yeah.

Which is the best thing that could happen. Yeah. It is. So the first day is actually huge. Like, I would, I would bet, I would bet that if you were to ask, the guys involved with the American team from the captain all the way down they would probably say from a competitive standpoint

it probably doesn't help that the president's going to show up on Friday it probably doesn't it's not going to benefit them in the slightest yeah whatever inspiration they might get you have no idea how to prepare for the crowd response and the Europeans are leaning into it in a major way by saying let's see what happens here let's already position ourselves as the plucky spry lovable underdog, whether they are or not. Let's do for the love of the game.

Right. Love of the game. And then let's position the big ugly Americans as the big ugly Americans. It's not that. And so it's a great, it's a great storyline going into it. And on the backdrop of a very raucous and rowdy place, Bethpage, like it's great. It's great theater. It's great drama.

Now that I've said that it's going to be a total bust. Adaw cannot wait for the. the golf this weekend. Who's your favorite? She's so excited for it. He just wants us to go to a break. Who's your favorite rider cup participant? Whichever one is going to be calling it at 8 a.m.

to try and win those Vancouver Giants tickets. Nice segue, A dog. Do that on the other side. Call in right at 8 o'clock. 604-280650 for a pair of Giants tickets. It'll probably be one of those cheap Americans because they want free tickets. They want the free tickets. Greedy.

Thomas Drans on the other side, Halford & Brough, SportsNet, 650.