Canadian rugby women look for second straight win over top-ranked England

Having ended England’s undefeated rugby run at 41 matches last week, the Canadian women expect to face a motivated Red Roses side on Friday.

Third-ranked Canada has rocked the women’s game in recent weeks, first ending top-ranked England’s record 39-game winning streak with a 26-26 draw last month in Exeter before dispatching the Red Roses 24-21 last Friday in Toronto.

The two powerhouse teams wrap up WXV Global Series tournament play at Ottawa’s TD Place. Both sport 2-1-1 records with England one bonus point ahead in the standings.

“We know we want to finish on a high,” said Canada coach Kevin Rouet.

England will be looking to prove the Toronto defeat was a fluke, said Canadian captain Sophie de Goede.

Canadian rugby centre Shoshanah Seumanutafa plots her next move

“We know that it wasn’t,” she told a virtual media availability Thursday. “We came off the draw and now the win and now we’re going for a series win. So that’s the main goal for us.

“We know they’ll be focused, energized. But the focus has to remain on us and continuing to do our job.”

Centre Shoshanah Seumanutafa, who starts Friday after scoring last week’s the winning try off the bench, says the Canadians are excited to have another crack at the Red Roses.

“We’ve always known we can beat England. But I think that win has really allowed us to be more confident in ourselves. And know for sure we can do it again.”

Plus Rouet believes the Canadian women can play better than they did Friday.

“They say to beat the best you have to be perfect. And I think we were imperfect in some aspects,” said the France-born coach.

England has not lost two in row since consecutive defeats in 2016 to France (17-12) and Canada (52-17). The Canadian women would lose their next 14 meetings with England, prior to last month’s draw.

The Toronto defeat was England’s first since losing to host New Zealand in November, 2022 in the final of the pandemic-delayed Rugby World Cup.

The Red Roses’ unbeaten run lasted 1,282 days and saw them outscore the opposition 2,025 to 554.

Canada, meanwhile, has lost just three of its last 21 outings (16-3-2), with the defeats to England in the 2025 World Cup final, No. 2 New Zealand and No. 4 France.

Canadian vice-captain Alex Tessier, who came off early in Toronto for a head injury assessment, starts on the bench with Taylor Perry shifting from centre to fly-half.

Gabby Senft comes in for Rachel Smith at blindside flanker. Backrower Caroline Crossley joins an experienced Canadian bench that totals 315 caps.

Rouet said while Tessier is healthy, the 72-cap veteran starts on the bench after missing some training this week.

England coach John Mitchell, coming off his first loss at the Red Roses’ helm after winning 30 matches and drawing one, has made four changes to his starting lineup.

Star fullback Ellie Kildunne has been dropped with Mitchell saying World Rugby’s 2024 Player of the Year is “going through a difficult period at the moment.”

Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, Tatyana Heard and Alex Matthews also lose their place.

Emma Sing and Mia Venner slot in at fullback and wing, while Helena Rowland starts at inside centre. Sadia Kabeya takes over at open-side flanker.

Friday’s result will not affect England’s perch atop the rankings although a Canada win combined with a New Zealand victory over France would cut the Red Roses’ lead over the Black Ferns.

Canada can climb into second spot with two scenarios: A win and a New Zealand loss or a draw combined with a New Zealand defeat. Both options seem unlikely given the Black Ferns thumped France 81-12 last week.

The Canadians will remain third even if they lose Friday.

Rugby Canada expects more than 12,500 at TD Place, surpassing the 11,543 – which set a record for a Canadian women’s home game – who saw Canada beat the U.S. 42-10 in August, 2025.

That mark was surpassed by the 18,631 who took in last week’s win in Toronto with BMO Field, a North American record for a women’s rugby match, according to Rugby Canada.