Red Roses’ four-year record gone – but good for women’s rugby?

November 12, 2022 - the date England's Red Roses last lost a Test match before suffering defeat to Canada in Toronto a week ago, four years on.

Between their galling 2022 Women's Rugby World Cup final defeat to New Zealand at Eden Park and last week, the Red Roses went 41 Tests unbeaten, winning 39 consecutive matches before a draw against Canada in Exeter last month.

England's dominance is even more stark when you take into account that before that 2022 defeat, they had gone on a 30-Test winning run between November 2019 and November 2022.

Before last week in Canada, therefore, England had won 70 of their previous 72 Test matches. Astonishing and remarkable in equal measure.

• Red Roses' 41-game unbeaten run ended in dramatic fashion in Canada
• England's 39-game winning streak ended in thrilling Canada draw
• Latest rugby union news, headlines, results and reports
• Latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract on NOW

Some eight Six Nations titles have been won in a row, in near totally dominant fashion too between 2019 and 2026, while a third World Cup triumph to sit alongside 1994 and 2014 was finally clinched on home soil in 2025, after final defeats in 2017 and 2022.

And yet, such monumentally impressive dominance had placed England in a position where Six Nations contests were fast becoming a non-event, competition-wise.

While France and New Zealand had historically competed hard and alongside England at the top of the world game, and Ireland won Six Nations titles in 2013 and 2015, the Red Roses were now consistently blowing those sides away completely.

Canada's rise in recent years can only be a good thing for the sport, as is the apparent resurgence of New Zealand's Black Ferns. They were level with England at 19-19 at Twickenham last month and pushing for a late winner in the final play, only for the Red Roses to snatch victory themselves.

In 2023, England put 50 points and 45 points on Canada in one-sided Test wins. By the 2025 World Cup final at Twickenham, Canada were competitive until England proved too strong and pulled away to glory.

But a year on, Canada have drawn with England in Exeter and now fought back to beat them in Toronto from a position of 21-12 behind. Friday's third Test between the sides in Ottawa is now a genuinely compelling and tantalising prospect. That can only be seen as a good thing for women's rugby.

Mitchell: Defeat is 'definitely' what Red Roses needed

Red Roses head coach John Mitchell has borderline talked up a defeat for his side in recent months.

Indeed, it appears the 62-year-old anticipated this WXV Global Series block was going to prove testing for his side, and is now relishing the chance to hit back.

"Definitely [it is what England needed]," he said. "I think even before that message we said: 'Come and get us.'

"We have been asking for someone to come and get us and they have done that. Not that we designed that to happen, far from it. We have to respond.

"The important thing is winning after winning is harder than before. I guess what it does to everyone is it frees us up, which is cool. It allows us all to find more.

"I know this group has definitely got more in it but sometimes it requires the context that we have just received to dig deeper and push for something more.

"Friday is our first chance to respond. Last Friday, we lost sight of what we could control when it mattered most and that's on us to fix.

"This week is about getting back to who we are: hungry, accountable to each other and demanding more of ourselves than anyone outside this group ever could.

"We've earned a strong period, but nothing about it is owed to us going forward. Friday is an opportunity to apply sustained pressure, learn from what we missed and come out the other side better than we went in."

Jones: I know this will make Red Roses stronger

Red Roses centre Meg Jones has proven an inspirational leader since taking on the captaincy earlier this year, and was so even before the official title came her way.

In this period of pressure and spotlight, so unusual for the Red Roses, her soundbites to media have nearly all been pitch perfect.

"For us the biggest thing is that we stick together," she said this week.

"Games are built on moments, it is not one individual moment, it is multiple. That is the beauty of it and we get to review it, we get to go again, we get to stick together.

"I think it is good for us to reassess this and see where we are at. I think togetherness is the main message to come out of that because it's how you respond when you have had a loss, I think that is the biggest test of character.

"They are lessons at the end of the day, I don't think a loss necessarily changes the way we approach things. You genuinely do learn from it.

"I spoke to Burts [Abi Burton] and we said: 'How many games have we lost in our career?' And we had a little chuckle, those are the ones that shape you the most at times. It's the biggest lesson for sure. Teams are coming out to beat us, they are going to put their best foot forward. We need to make sure we have got our best foot forward as well.

"It tests our game a lot, and it shows our character. We've just gained massive amounts of experience, and I know it'll make us stronger going into each game.

"Now we have the opportunity to not be defined by the outcome and really solidify where your two feet are and where you are is the most important. That is where you find courage and bravery to stick where you are in the present moment. That is going to be huge for us this weekend."

'Everything we do this year is to beat England'

And what of Canada? A year ago, they crowdfunded their way to a World Cup final against England at Twickenham, producing one of the tournament's standout performances along the way by beating New Zealand 34-19 at Ashton Gate with a swashbuckling brand of rugby.

Bringing together players from eight of Canada's 13 vast provinces and territories, spread across six time zones, and giving them the best possible preparation for the World Cup prompted a fundraising campaign with a target of C$1m (£535,355). Rugby Canada made its ambitions clear, dubbing it Mission: Win Rugby World Cup 2025.

Pledges reached 95 per cent of the target, helping fund training camps in California, Ontario and Belfast, as well as warm-up Tests in South Africa and Ireland.

Since rugby turned openly professional in 1995, Canada's women's sevens and 15s teams have become the country's flagship sides, surpassing the men's team. But Rugby Canada has lacked the resources to fully contract them.

As a result, world No 2 Canada are not a fully professional outfit like top-ranked England, but the gap between the two sides feels narrower than ever.

In September, Canada scrum-half Olivia Apps told the media that "everything we do this year is to beat England". True to their word, the Canadians have now done just that.

Now, it is England's chance to reply.

"When you've done it once, you want to do it twice," Canada head coach Kevin Rouet said this week.

"But to do it twice, you have to be serious. We have to enjoy, but we have to go back to the grind."

Also this week, Rouet signed a new contract with Canada through to 2030 as they build towards the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and at Women's Rugby World Cup 2029.

"I am very excited for the opportunity to continue coaching this team for the next four years. We have grown so much as a group since I began in 2022, and I am excited to see what our teams and players can achieve as we build towards the 2028 Olympics and the 2029 Rugby World Cup.

"I also look forward to continuing to help develop the high-performance pathway for women's rugby in Canada. It's going to be an exciting next cycle."

WXV Global Series: England's schedule and results

• England 48-15 Australia
• England 26-26 Canada
• England 26-19 New Zealand
• Canada 24-21 England
• October 23 - Canada v England (Ottawa)
• October 30 - USA v England (New Jersey)