Canadian women’s rugby team look for long-awaited win over England’s Red Roses on home turf

Having halted top-ranked England’s record winning streak at 39 matches in a pulsating 26-26 rugby draw last month, the third-ranked Canadian women now hope to go one better.

“We’re looking to end their undefeated streak, [now at 41 games],” said Canadian forward Lizzie Gibson. “I think we have a fire burning under us.

“We really want to win this game and we know we’re more than capable of doing it.”

The Sept. 19 draw in Exeter marked the teams’ first meeting since the September 2025 World Cup final when the Red Roses prevailed 33-13 before a women’s record crowd of 81,885 at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

Canada looks to turn the table Friday when the two teams face off again in WXV Global Series play at Toronto’s BMO Field.

One year on from Rugby World Cup heartbreak, Canada’s players see positive change

It’s a mighty challenge.

England has not lost since Nov. 12, 2022, when it was beaten 34-21 by co-host New Zealand in the final of the pandemic-delayed 2021 World Cup. Come Friday, that unbeaten run will stand at 1,434 days.

England has won 70 of its last 72 tests.

The Red Roses hold a 34-3-2 career record against Canada and are 11-0-0 on Canadian soil including – most recently – a 21-12 decision in WXV play in Vancouver in October 2024.

But the Canadian women have been edging closer and closer to victory in recent years. They pushed the Red Roses to the limit in the 2021 World Cup semi-final before falling 26-19.

Last month’s draw ended Canada’s string of 14 losses to England since a 52-17 win in July 2016. It also left a significant dent in the Red Roses’ aura of invincibility.

England needed an 80th-minute intercept try from Zoe Harrison to edge No. 2 New Zealand 26-19 in its lone outing since the Canadian draw. Canada also hit a subsequent road bump, beaten 21-5 by fourth-ranked France on Sept. 26 in La Rochelle.

Canada (1-1-1 in WXV play) now has two shots at knocking England (2-0-1) off its pedestal. After Toronto, the two teams face off again in WXV play on Oct. 23 in Ottawa.

The home games, the first for the Canadian women since a World Cup warm-up win over the U.S. in August 2025 in Ottawa, are a chance for Rugby Canada to impress on and off the field.

The matches will boost the organization’s modest bottom line. And coming less than a week after the Canadian women’s soccer team drew an announced crowd of just 12,112 for a 4-3 friendly loss to Denmark, it’s a chance to show sponsors and fans alike that it’s worth getting on the rugby women’s bandwagon.

Rugby Canada expects a crowd of more than 18,000 Friday.

The governing body is doing its best to showcase the Canadian women. All Heart: A Rugby Story, a four-part documentary on their World Cup run that is currently airing on Crave, portrays a tightly knit squad in lockstep with passionate coach Kevin Rouet.

“We said we were going to have to show some heart. I don’t think we showed everything we’ve got,” then-captain Alex Tessier is shown telling the team at halftime of the World Cup final.

That didn’t change, leading to a torrent of Canadian tears after the final whistle.

Friday is another chance for the Canadian women to put their best foot forward. At their best, they play attractive, free-flowing rugby built on a hard-nosed forward pack and pacy elusive backs.

Canada and England know each other well. Nine of the Canadian starters play in the English league, the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR).

Friday’s matchday squads feature seven players from Saracens, the reigning English champion, including Canadians Sophie de Goede, Alysha Corrigan, Olivia Apps and Julia Omokhuale. Apps, an elusive scrum half, was the PWR Player of the Year last season.

While the Canadian women have shown they can compete with England on the field, Rugby Canada is dwarfed by England’s Rugby Football Union when it comes to resources.

Last November, the RFU reported revenue of £228-million ($428.9 million) for the period running from June 2024 to June 2025. In contrast, Rugby Canada reported revenue of $17.3-million in its 2025 annual report.

Rugby Canada announced Thursday that Rouet has been rewarded with a contract extension through 2030.

That means Rouet, whose existing deal ran through 2027, is under contract through the 2029 World Cup.

The French-born coach has an impressive 33-11-2 record in charge. The losses are all to England (six defeats), No. 2 New Zealand (three) and No. 4 France (two).

Canada has already shed one hoodoo under Rouet, recording its first-ever win over six-time world champion New Zealand in a 22-19 decision in Auckland in May 2024 to win the Pacific Four Series. The Canadian women had lost all 17 previous meetings with the Black Ferns with 10 of those defeats by 27 points or more.

“The more we played New Zealand, the more we grew and finally we beat them,” Rouet said an interview Thursday. “That’s the same with England.

“The more we face them, the more the chance to beat them is there,” he added. “So that’s a good set-up for us. Not perfect after a World Cup because definitely we don’t have a lot of time together but I think playing them three times will remove the stress of playing them.”

Rouet calls Friday’s roster the strongest Canada has fielded at this year’s WXV.

He has stuck with the same forward pack that took on England last month. There are changes to the backline with Corrigan and Savannah Bauder slotting in on the wing and at fullback, respectively. Tessier and Taylor Perry switch positions, with Tessier shifting to fly half from inside centre.

Corrigan, who missed Canada’s three matches in September due to injury, makes her first start since the World Cup.

The Canadian starting 15 goes into the game with a combined 387 caps with DaLeaka Menin (75), Tessier (71) and de Goede (46) accounting for 192 of those.

Rouet has plenty of experience on the bench with the eight replacements totalling 299 caps.

“It’s a beautiful balance of making sure when it’s time you close the game, you have very experienced players [coming off the bench],” Rouet said.

England’s squad is long on experience with the starting 15 combining for 780 caps. There are another 291 caps on the bench.

Friday’s game is being shown on TSN2 and the TSN app.