England Defeat Canada 21-12 in Tight Match
Canada didn’t win but it was a good effort by Canada that was just hampered by key handling errors at critical times. It was a 2 point match until the final whistle when England scored their final try.
The reports from The Guardian and Rugby Canada are posted below along with the video highlights.
England has secured back-to-back WXV1 titles with a classy 21-12 comeback victory over Canada that clinches them a 20th successive victory and confirms them as the hot favourites for the 2025 Rugby World Cup next August. In a tightly-fought contest, the Red Roses outlasted the home side with three-tries and stout defence to prevail.
Canada took England close to the wire in the World Cup semi-final in 2022, and had defeated New Zealand to win the Pacific Four Series earlier this year. By notching big WXV victories over France and Ireland, they entered this showdown as world No 2. If anyone could beat England it was Canada, and if it was ever to happen, it was now.
But England were on a march of their own. After an adjustment period in the Six Nations and an easy win over USA in the first round, everything clicked for John Mitchell’s side last Sunday as Jess Breach, Abby Dow and Ellie Kildunne ran riot with a combined seven tries in an exhilarating WXV 1 victory over their old rivals and the 2022 world champions New Zealand.
Yet Canada dominated early, winning a penalty within 20 seconds of kickoff and laying siege to England’s line. Despite six successive victories, the home side had lost their last 12 against the Red Roses so showed their intent by spurning three points to chase five. After three furious minutes of mauling, Justine Pelletier’s snipe from a metre out secured a 5-0 lead.
The Red Roses bit back in the ninth minute when prop Maud Muir finished a strong charge downfield by Alex Matthews and Helena Rowland slotted the conversion to give England a 7-5 lead. As the game settled, the teams traded attacking thrusts and fatigue became a factor, mistakes keeping both sides’ scoring in check.
Despite England’s 73% possession, Canada’s relentless offloading kept them alive. Inspired, the Vancouver crowd roared as their team assailed England’s line late in the half. But too often they took an inside channel when overlaps existed out wide and each time England’s last line of defence held up would-be try scorers over the line.
Canada carried their momentum into the second half and when England’s Kildunne was yellow carded for a cynical offside play to kill another break, England were in trouble. Canada used the one-woman advantage to rip through the middle with fast passes and runners and captain Tessier iced a brilliant movement in the 51st minute by slicing inside and scoring under the posts to restore a 12-7 lead.
England had won 49 of their last 50 Tests, including 19 consecutive wins since their shock defeat by New Zealand at the 2022 World Cup final. Canada sniffed the upset and the crowd sensed it too. A torrent of red jerseys poured into England territory and as Kildunne returned, Bo Westcombe-Evans departed for a deliberate knock-on.
Canada continued to stretch the Red Roses and when they finally won a lineout, having lost six in the opening hour, a try seemed certain. But another forward final pass under pressure squandered what might’ve been a 10-point lead. England cashed in on the reprieve, rumbling up the middle to send Sarah Burn over from a low drive.
At 14-12 with 10 minutes to play, Canada’s errors were mounting and England were taking control. A daring 50-22 kick got Canada out of trouble and back on attack but a rush of blood by Tessier to kick crossfield for her winger scuppered the opportunity and Canada’s frustrating inability to win lineouts helped the Red Roses close it out.
Ultimately, star lock Zoe Aldcroft killed the party cold for the home crowd by crossing for England’s third try in the 80th minute. The 2021 World Rugby player of the year was later named player of the match. The eyes of the 16 best women’s rugby teams now turn to the 2025 World Cup, the draw for which will be released next week.
from Rugby Canada
The two best women’s rugby teams in the world went head-to-head Saturday night in Vancouver with Canada, ranked second in the world, taking on reigning WXV 1 champions England for the 2024 title.
After Canada’s Alex Tessier put Canada up 12-7 early in the second half in front of a loud and passionate crowd at BC Place, England battled back, scoring two tries in the final 22 minutes to seal the victory and win the second edition of WXV 1.
“The biggest take away from this game is that we can compete with the top team in the world,” said Canada’s captain Tyson Beukeboom. “I think we really challenged them. I think there were moments where they were very worried. We had more opportunities than they did and that is a testament to the grind that this team puts in and how hard we work.”
The game began with Canada kicking to England but at the very first breakdown, Canada’s Courtney Holtkamp forced England into taking a penalty, giving the home side immediate possession inside England’s 22-metre line. After several phases around the English try line, scrum half Justine Pelletier found a hole in the defensive line to put Canada up 5-0 just five minutes into the match.
“When you play a team like England it will come down to whoever wants to put their body on the line,” added Beukeboom, speaking about her team’s defensive effort. “I think our team did that really well.”
However, just four minutes later, the Red Roses answered with their first try of the game and with a successful conversion took a 7-5 lead. Canada was under pressure following the England try, but a strong defensive stand kept the deficit at only two points.
With timing winding down in the first half, the Canadians had two glorious chances to retake the lead, but a knock on and a ball held up in the in-goal sent the two sides to the locker room with a 7-5 scoreline in favour of England.
Canada immediately was on the front foot early in the second half after England’s Ellie Kildunne was sent off the field with a yellow card, with Canada seizing the moment. With the player advantage, Canada spread the ball out early and often amongst their backline, steadily gaining metres before Tessier slipped through the England defensive line and sprinted 20 meters across the try line to give Canada the lead 12-7, after converting her own score.
Despite another yellow card at the 58th minute, England took advantage of a Canadian knock on deep inside their own end and took back the lead after a try and successful conversion, 14-12.
The back-and-forth battle continued between the two sides and with time winding down in the match, a well-placed kick from Julia Schell resulted in a 50-22 for Canada, giving them possession deep in England’s territory. But a strong defensive stand from England kept the score in their favour at 14-12, with the Red Roses adding one last try before the last whistle to claim the WXV 1 title and make the final score 21-12.
“The team chatted about it at the end that we don’t think it was our best game but the beauty of that is that even though we weren’t playing our best we were still so close,” said Canada’s Head Coach Kevin Rouet. “We have a lot to work on and we know with more time together it can be easily fixed.”
More information on WXV, including the results, can be found on the official website at wxvrugby.com.
Canada Face England on Saturday to Determine WXV 1 Champion
Canada and England will face off on Saturday at 7pm at BC Place to determine the winner of WXV 1. England are currently top of the standings with 10 points, Canada 9 points, France and Ireland at 5 points, NZ with 2 points and USA with zero. Besides Canada v England, the other match on Saturday is France v NZ with USA v Ireland on Friday.
Changes from the Ireland match include the two props with McKinley Hunt and DeLeaka Menin starting and Brittany Kassil and Alexandria Ellis moving to the reserves. Laetitia Royer starts at second row with Tyson Beukeboom moving to the reserves. Pam Buisa gets the start at blindside flanker after being a late withdrawal from the Ireland match, Julia Omokhuale moves to the reserves. Fabiola Forteza starts at openside with Caroline Crossley not in the roster for this match, Gabrielle Senft retains her #8 spot.
In the backs the halfbacks and centres remain the same with changes in the back three, Paige Farries returns to start on the wing and Asia Hogan-Rochester gets her first start on the XVs team on the wing, Julia Schell returns at fullback.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team Match Day Roster vs England
1. McKinley Hunt (King City, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Saracens
2. Emily Tuttosi (Souris, MB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs
3. DaLeaka Menin (Vulcan, AB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs
4. Courtney Holtkamp (Rimbey, AB) – Red Deer Titans Rugby
5. Laetitia Royer (Loretteville, QC) – St-Anne-de-Bellevue / Concordia Univeristy / ASM Romagnat
6. Pamphinette Buisa (Gatineau, QC) – Ottawa Irish
7. Fabiola Forteza (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais
8. Gabrielle Senft (Regina, SK) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens
9. Justine Pelletier (Rivière-du-Loup, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais
10. Claire Gallagher (Caledon, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Leicester Tigers
11. Paige Farries (Red Deer, AB) – Saracens
12. Alexandra Tessier (Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC) – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC / Exeter Chiefs
13. Shoshanah Seumanutafa (White Rock, BC) – Counties Manukau
14. Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON) – Toronto Nomads
15. Julia Schell (Uxbridge, ON) – Guelph Goats / Castaway Wanderers / Ealing Trailfinders
FINISHERS
16. Sara Cline (Edmonton, AB) – Leprechaun Tigers
17. Brittany Kassil (Guelph, ON) – Guelph Goats
18. Alexandria Ellis (Ottawa, ON) – Barrhaven Scottish / Stade Villeneuvois LM
19. Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, ON) – Cowichan Piggies / Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders
20. Julia Omokhuale (Calgary, AB) – Calgary Irish Rugby Club / Leicester Tigers
21. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC
22. Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) – CRFC / Saracens
23. Fancy Bermudez (Edmonton, AB) – NWAA / Westshore RFC / Saracens
from Rugby Canada
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team’s match day roster for the winner-takes-all WXV 1 finale against England has been announced by Head Coach Kevin Rouet, as the top two teams in the world prepare to contend for the tournament title on Saturday.
The third and final game of Canada’s WXV 1 campaign goes on October 12 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, BC, with kick-off scheduled for 7:00pm local time (10:00pm ET).
“Coming into the tournament we wanted to be in this position, with two wins after two games using a wider group of players from the squad, and a chance to beat England to win WXV,” said Rouet. “England have shown why they are the best team in the world but we know that if we are at our best on both offence and defence we are a team that can beat them.”
Laetitia Royer, who scored two tries in Canada’s WXV 1 opener against France and was named Player of the Match, comes back into the starting 15 to face England.
Asia Hogan-Rochester, who scored off the bench in their first international cap against France two weeks ago, will hit another milestone with their first ever start for Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team when they take to the field on Saturday.
Prop McKinley Hunt will start her first game since Canada’s historic Pacific Four Series win in Christchurch in May against the New Zealand Black Ferns after starting on the bench in Canada’s first two matches of WXV 1. Pamphinette Buisa and DeLeaka Menin both rejoin the starting roster after sitting out against Ireland.
“It’s going to be an exciting game, number one versus number two in the world. It’s a long way to the Rugby World Cup but this is a great chance to measure ourselves and see the progress the squad has made.”
Tickets for the final matches of WXV 1 can be purchased HERE. Tickets are purchased as single day passes, with each ticket providing fans access for a full match day. This means purchasers can attend multiple games using a single ticket on October 12. Fans will be able to exit and re-enter the stadiums in accordance with regulations.
Additional questions regarding ticket purchases can be directed to tickets@rugby.ca.
Canada’s game against England will be broadcast on Saturday October 12 on TSN1 / TSN5 and livestreamed on TSN+ at 7:00pm PT/10:00pm ET.
More information on WXV can be found HERE.