Canada Win Final Pool Match 40-19 Over Scotland: Face Australia in Quarter-Finals
Canada were ahead 19-5 at the half but it wasn’t a comfortable lead as Scotland had much of the play in the first 30 minutes and it was a yellow card picked up by the TMO at the 30′ that turned the match around. The referee had penalized Canada heavily early in the match, often getting the scrum infractions wrong, penalizing Canada even though they had the stronger scrum. She also missed the important yellow card infraction where a Scottish hand knocked the ball on from an offside position near the goal line, the TMO picked it up. What ensued was a penalty try from the scrum and a try by Emily Tuttosi that took a close 7-5 match to 19-5 at the half.
Canada started slow in the second half and Scotland scored the first try with a #8 break through a normally resolute defence. The loose forwards for Canada were a bit MIA in the match so far. Emily Tuttosi again came through with a brilliant individual effort to score off the back off a stalled maul, 26-12.
Scotland scored next when Canada couldn’t make a clearance from a kick into their zone near the 22, Julia Schell and Taylor Perry really not communicating well, and Scotland scored from the ensuing lineout. Fortunately for Canada again the TMO picked up the call, an offside on the try, the referee and assistant referees were missing a lot in this game. Canada came back and scored a try by Brittany Kassil, a 14 point turnaround on the disallowed Scotland try, 33-12 Canada.
Scotland scored next, again controlling the game and possession, 33-19 with 5 minutes left. Canada finished the match with a try by Olivia de Merchant, 40-19 final.
Canada are still making too many handling errors early in the match, taking too many penalties and making the first quarter difficult for themselves. They fell asleep a couple of times during the match on defence. The good news is that Canada haven’t played a full 80 minute match yet, there’s a lot more potential. This was a tight 5 win, all the tries coming from the tight 5. The loose forwards, the halfback pairing and backline all have to lift their game going into the playoff round. Canada play Australia in the quarter-finals, England v Scotland in the other quarter-final, and Sunday’s matches determining the final two quarter-finals.
from Rugby Canada
Tyson Beukeboom made history in winning fashion on Saturday, earning her 81st cap to become Canada’s all-time most-capped rugby player — across both men’s and women’s teams — as Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team defeated Scotland 40–19 to finish atop Pool B at the Rugby World Cup.
The milestone game for Beukeboom, a veteran of four World Cups, was complemented by special moments for fellow forwards Brittany Kassil and Courtney O’Donnell, who each came off the bench to collect their 50th international caps. Canada’s pack provided the platform for victory, accounting for all six tries in a physical contest at Sandy Park in Exeter.
Canada struck first through McKinley Hunt, who powered over from close range in the 12th minute after the forwards laid the groundwork with sustained pressure inside the 22.
Scotland hit back in the 23rd minute through Rhona Lloyd, but Canada wasted little time in regaining control. Marching straight back into the Scottish 22, Canada piled on the pressure, and when Scotland captain Evie Gallagher was shown a yellow card, Canada went to work at the set piece. Their scrum surged forward under the posts, forcing Scotland to collapse, and the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try.
Barely two minutes later, Canada struck again. Playing in front of her club supporters at Sandy Park, hooker Emily Tuttosi finished off a flowing passage of attacking play, diving over in the corner following a slick offload from Sophie de Goede to give Canada a two-score advantage.
The Canadians went into halftime leading 19–5, having carried for 262 metres to Scotland’s 101, with the momentum firmly in their hands.
Scotland threatened a comeback early in the second half, narrowing the gap to 19–12 through Gallagher. But Tuttosi responded immediately with her second try – a tackle-breaking burst from in close – and from there the Canadians never looked back.
A milestone moment came in the 64th minute when Kassil marked her half-century cap in style, crashing over for a try. Scotland replied through Fran McGhie, but Canada had the final say. Replacement prop Olivia DeMerchant powered across in the closing stages to cap off a 40–19 victory, sealing a perfect 3–0 pool record with a +121 point differential.
Canada enjoyed the edge in metres carried (443–363), offloads (14–3), and set piece consistency (100% scrum, 87% lineout). Two-try Tuttosi was named Mastercard Player of the Match, while de Goede added three conversions and a match-high five offloads.
Captain Alex Tessier reflected on the team’s pool-stage sweep and the mindset heading into the knockouts:
“We got the first job done, which was the pool stages. We wanted to finish first in our pool, and we did the job. Expectations are high now – we’re going into the quarterfinals and there’s no going back after that. It was important to finish first in our pool to be in the best position possible. Whoever we face in the knockout rounds, we’ll be prepared.”
Emily Tuttosi echoed Tessier’s focus on building momentum:
“I’m thankful for the outcome today. It was a hard-fought win. A lot of us hadn’t played Scotland before, and we knew they were going to bring the fight. It was a fun, physical game, and there was good rugby played by both sides. We knew coming into the World Cup that we wanted to make it out of pool play, and we’ve set ourselves up for success in the quarterfinals.”
CANADA SCORING SUMMARY
Tries: McKinley Hunt (11′), Penalty Try (32’), Emily Tuttosi 2 (34′, 57’), Brittany Kassil (64’), Olivia DeMerchant (78’)
Conversions: Sophie de Goede (3), Alex Tessier (1)
Canada Name Roster for Scotland Match to Decide Pool Winner: Only 2 Changes to Starting Lineup
After two pool matches it looks as if coach Kevin Rouet has ended his lineup rotations and decided on a starting roster. There is only one change in the forwards with Fabiola Forteza getting the nod ahead of Caroline Crossley at #6, with Crossley covering from the bench. In the backs again there is only one change with Paige Farries getting the start at wing and Alysha Corrigan getting a rest. Farries is coming back from a long term injury and this is her first appearance at this World Cup. She played a full 80 against Ireland in the warm up matches and scored a try. Fancy Bermudez, the other winger in the roster, was injured in the Fiji match but there’s no word on her condition. Laetitia Royer also returns to the match 23 in the reserves and Canada have gone for a 6/2 split on the bench.
Canada and Scotland are sitting top of Pool B each with 10 points so the winner will claim Pool B #1 and likely face Australia or USA. The loser has the unenviable task of facing #1 England in the quarter-finals. The Australia v England and USA v Samoa matches will determine the final ranking of Pool A. England look assured of claiming top spot but USA still have an outside chance of catching Australia for Pool A #2. Australia have a point differential lead of +135 but Samoa have given up an average of 80+ points in their two losses so it’s conceivable USA could win by 80 and then if Australia lose to England by 55 or more it could get interesting. England have an average of +75 point differential in their two pool wins.
Canada Roster
1. McKinley Hunt (King City, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Saracens (34 caps)
2. Emily Tuttosi (Souris, MB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (37 caps)
3. DaLeaka Menin (Vulcan, AB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (65 caps)
4. Sophie de Goede (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (37 caps)
5. Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, ON) – Cowichan Piggies / Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders (80 caps)
6. Fabiola Forteza (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (37 caps)
7. Karen Paquin (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Quebec (47 caps)
8. Gabrielle Senft (Regina, SK) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (36 caps)
9. Justine Pelletier (Rivière-du-Loup, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (39 caps)
10. Taylor Perry (Oakville, ON) – Oakville Crusaders / Exeter Chiefs (19 caps)
11. Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON) – Toronto Nomads / Westshore RFC (4 caps)
12. Alexandra Tessier (Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC) – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC / Exeter Chiefs (62 caps)
13. Florence Symonds (Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia (14 caps)
14. Paige Farries (Red Deer, AB) – Saracens (35 caps)
15. Julia Schell (Uxbridge, ON) – Guelph Goats / Castaway Wanderers / Ealing Trailfinders (28 caps)
16. Gillian Boag (Calgary, AB) – Capilano RFC (35 caps)
17. Brittany Kassil (Guelph, ON) – Guelph Goats (49 caps)
18. Olivia DeMerchant (Mapledale, NB) – Halifax Tars RFC (62 caps)
19. Laetitia Royer (Loretteville, QC) – St-Anne-de-Bellevue / Concordia University / Saracens (18 caps)
20. Courtney O’Donnell (Rimbey, AB) – Red Deer Titans Rugby (49 caps)
21. Caroline Crossley (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers (9 caps)
22. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC (21 caps)
23. Shoshanah Seumanutafa (White Rock, BC) – Counties Manukau (20 caps)
from Rugby Canada
With a spot in the quarterfinal already secured, the match day roster for Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team’s third and final pool play match at the 2025 Rugby World Cup has been selected by Head Coach Kevin Rouet.
“We have been happy with our first two games but there is still room for improvement before the quarterfinals,” said Rouet. “Scotland will give us a new challenge this week but our mindset as a team doesn’t change. We must focus on ourselves and continue to build on the past two games and be even better against Scotland. Being prepared and focused on Scotland will make us even stronger come the knockout stages.”
Starting at lock for Canada in her fourth Rugby World Cup is Tyson Beukeboom, who will become the most capped player in Canadian history—across both the men’s and women’s rugby—when she earns her 81st cap on Saturday, surpassing men’s player Aaron Carpenter.
Other Canadian milestones on the horizon this weekend include Brittany Kassil and Courtney Holtkamp, who will each earn their 50th cap for Canada when they come off the bench.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Sophie de Goede has surpassed Magali Harvey as the all-time leading scorer for Canada’s women’s rugby team, with 262 points (12 tries, 83 conversions, and 12 penalties). De Goede will start the match against Scotland in the second row.
After suffering an injury that nearly ruled her out of the Rugby World Cup, Laetitia Royer—named to the 2024 World Rugby Dream Team—returns to the lineup as a reserve.
WHERE TO WATCH
Canada’s Rugby World Cup against Scotland on September 6 will kick off at 12:00pm local time (4:00am PST / 7:00am EST) and will be available on TSN1 and TSN+. All of Canada’s games at the Rugby World Cup will be broadcast live, along with bonus coverage of select non-Canada matches throughout the tournament.
2025 WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP
Canada has officially qualified for the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup. Details regarding their opponent, as well as the date and time of the quarterfinal match, will be confirmed upon the completion of pool play. The match schedule for the Rugby World Cup can be found here.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham next month is sold out with 82,000 fans, making it the most attended women’s rugby union match ever. Over 400,000 tickets have been sold across all matches so far — three times more than the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand.