Canada’s women ready for rugby World Cup final rematch against England in Toronto

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When looking at past history, the women’s rugby rivalry between Canada and England really isn’t one.

After all, England has a 34-3-1 record since the teams first met in 1993.

But if the focus is on the present and a projection to the future, the two nations are now each other’s best measuring stick. This should make their coming two-match series quite intriguing.

In what is being billed as a rematch of the 2025 World Cup final, the teams will meet on Friday at BMO Field. They will also face each other next Friday at TD Place in Ottawa.

Staging women’s rugby matches at those venues is in itself an indication of the rise in popularity this team enjoyed since that World Cup campaign.

“The team can now see that they are exciting (fans),” Canadian head coach Kevin Rouet said. “They now can share the sport they love to more people.”

England’s 33-13 win over Canada in that 2025 final before a home crowd in London was part of what would eventually become a world-record 39-match win streak for the Red Roses. Their most recent defeat was in the 2022 World Cup final against New Zealand.

Has Canada beaten England before?

Canada ended that streak in Exeter, England, on Sept. 19. Showing that they are just as fast, just as physical, and equal in the technical aspects of the game, Canada held England to a 26-26 tie. But they weren’t satisfied.

“We weren’t entirely happy with the draw,” assistant captain Alexandra Tessier said. “But it’s better than a loss.”

“We were disappointed because we genuinely thought we were going to win the game. But it was a massive step forward. We got closer than before so we have confidence but we need to reflect and improve so we finish on top.”

That match was in the middle of a three-match European stay. The Canadians opened with a 64-26 win over Scotland but ended it with a 21-5 loss to France.

Rouet said it’s just part of the process in Year 1 of the next World Cup cycle.

“We are so far from the World Cup so we need to test some new combinations,” he said. “We have focused ourselves on beating England so we didn’t show our best against France.”

“We have to find our balance between being competitive and also building for the next three years.”

Why is the rivalry so big?

There’s another level to the Canada-England rivalry as well, with a majority of the Canadian women playing with professional clubs there.

“80 percent of my players live in England,” Rouet said. “The rivalry is borne from that.”

“They want to win because if you go back to England after losing, you have a bad year. So they want to go back to England and play with their clubs after a win.”

2025 world 15s player of the year Sophie De Goede will captain the Canadian side in the matches. Tessier, who will vice-captain along with Justine Pelletier and Olivia Apps, feels will be very competitive and entertaining.

“We’re playing the number one team at home so it’s exciting,” she said. “Last time we beat England was back in 2016.”

“It’s going to be a hard battle. They’re physical as we are. We’re fast and have speed in the edge. The ball is going to move from one side to the other.”

“There will be a lot of contact and intense moments. Even if you don’t know rugby, you will be amazed. It will be enjoyable on both nights.”

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