Canada Shut Out Wales 42-0 in 2nd Pool Match: Next up Scotland on September 6th
Canada started slowly and finished with their foot off the pedal but had a strong 40 minutes between the first try at 16′ and their last try at 55′. It wasn’t a complete game for Canada with a lot of handling errors and they’ll need to focus on the details a little more as they have Scotland on the horizon and then likely a quarter-final match against Australia. Sophie de Goede was player of the match. Coach Rouet summed it up, “We know we have a job to do to refine our game, I am excited for next week because we want to play a good game of rugby.”
Tries: McKinley Hunt (16′, 29′), Alysha Corrigan (26′), Asia Hogan-Rochester (31′), Taylor Perry (50′), Brittany Kassil (55’)
Conversions: Sophie de Goede (6)
McKinley Hunt’s double for Canada helps knock Wales out of Rugby World Cup
Canada emphatically booked their place in the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup and inflicted a second successive defeat on Wales.
Kévin Rouet’s Canada have lived up to the billing inside the opening fortnight with back-to-back victories that have been both impressive and eye-catching. They were far superior to the Welsh here, scoring six tries without reply to set up a showdown with Scotland next weekend, when victory in Exeter will confirm them as Pool B winners.
On back-to-back weekends in Salford, Wales have flattered to deceive. However, while this was a disappointment against a very strong Canada side, the damage was done on the opening weekend against Scotland. There was no getting away from the fact that that game was do-or-die given the contrasting strength of the other two teams in Pool B.
That performance will ultimately be the one to cost them. They needed to cause a major upset here to stand any realistic chance of qualifying and despite showing some early signs of promise, they were unable to take any of their opportunities inside the opening quarter.
How Canada punished them with a devastating show of ruthlessness. “I saw improvements and that’s what I wanted,” the Wales coach, Sean Lynn, said. “The glimpses I saw in the last 20 minutes, that’s what I wanted but we didn’t capitalise in that first quarter. But I’m super proud of them.”
McKinley Hunt opened the scoring with the Canadian’s first real chance before a blitz of three tries in five minutes swung it decisively their way, pushing them into a 28-0 lead by half-time which Wales never really showed any signs of overcoming.
But as poor as this was for Wales, this was a destructive showing of Canada’s title credentials on multiple fronts. They were heavy favourites to qualify from this group and move on to the knockout stages but the manner in which they have done so during their first two games has been hugely impressive, and a statement to the rest of the field.
Even at 42-0, when Canada spurned an opportunity to go further ahead and inflict more misery on the Welsh, Rouet was seen shaking his head. They were clearly not content with mere qualification here; they wanted to do so in style. “We know we have a job to do to refine our game,” Rouet said. “I am excited for next week because we want to play a good game of rugby.”
Their front five were immense all afternoon, led by the wonderful Sophie de Goede throughout, and when you have players of the calibre of the imperious Olivia Apps to come from the bench, you have all the hallmarks of a group that can cause anyone problems across the full 80 minutes of any contest.
Perhaps this afternoon might have played out differently had Wales taken early advantage of their opportunities. However, their profligacy was punished in stunning fashion by the Canadians, beginning when Hunt forced her way over after 17 minutes.
Wales hung in for a brief period trailing 7-0 but when Alysha Corrigan finished a wonderful team move, it began a sequence of tries that all but ended this clash as a contest. Hunt quickly claimed her second before a minute later, Asia Hogan-Rochester pushed her way across the line, with De Goede converting all four.
A big lead at the break meant Wales needed somewhat of a miracle against such a dominant side to mount a comeback. That never really felt likely, and the result was decided when Taylor Perry and Brittany Kassil crossed for tries inside three second-half minutes. Wales dug in with great credit in that final 25 minutes but ultimately, the game had long since been decided.
England would have probably watched this contest in the run-up to their meeting with Samoa on Saturday evening. If they did, they will have almost certainly been impressed and put on notice.
from Rugby Canada
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team underlined their status as contenders at the 2025 Rugby World Cup with a 42-0 victory over Wales on Saturday at Salford Community Stadium in Manchester. The win — built on six tries and a clinical defensive display — secured a second consecutive bonus-point result for the world’s second-ranked side along with locking up their place in the quarterfinals.
Canada entered the match holding a dominant 10-2-2 all-time record over Wales, including seven straight wins since 2006. Wales, ranked 10th, began with a long spell of pressure inside Canada’s 22, but the Canadians absorbed the attack and held their opposition from crossing the try line.
Prop McKinley Hunt set the tone with two close-range tries in the first half (16’, 29’), while Alysha Corrigan (26’) finished a slick 12-phase move and Asia Hogan-Rochester (31’) capped her Rugby World Cup debut with a 60-metre solo effort for the bonus point.
By halftime Canada led 28-0, powered bytheir execution in the red zone and gain-line presence. Fly-half Taylor Perry darted over in the 50th minute to extend the lead before replacement prop Brittany Kassil added her name to the scoresheet five minutes later.
Sophie de Goede was perfect from the tee throughout the afternoon, slotting all six conversions, and added 20 carries, 62 metres, and 11 tackles which earned her Mastercard Player of the Match honours.
Canada’s dominance was reflected in the numbers: 796 metres carried to Wales’ 212, 22 defenders beaten to four, and 15 offloads to three. The set piece was equally assured, with a 100% scrum success rate and 88% at the lineout.
The match saw lock Tyson Beukeboom — already the most-capped Canadian women’s player — make her 80th appearance for Canada, drawing her level with former men’s player Aaron Carpenter as the most-capped Canadian rugby player in history.
Hogan-Rochester finished with a game-high 154 metres on five line breaks — the most by any player in a Rugby World Cup 2025 match so far.
Head Coach Kevin Rouet acknowledged his side’s imperfections but welcomed the clinical edge:
“[If you would have offered us] 42 points before the game, we would have signed up for that. We had some brilliant moments today. If we refine our turnovers — 27 is way too many for a single game — imagine what we can do going forward.”
Captain Alex Tessier echoed the sentiment:
“It was not our best performance, but we got the job done. We forced a lot of turnovers and handling errors, so that’s what we’ll look to fix. When we keep the ball, our style is exciting and we can score tries back-to-back — that’s key for us.”
Sophie de Goede, meanwhile, highlighted her pride in how the team weathered Wales’ spirited start:
“Wales came out with a lot of fire, as we knew they would. Big respect to them, and I’m really proud of our girls for weathering it. It feels great to get this result, but the job’s not done. We have another massive match against Scotland to set us up well in the quarterfinal.”
CANADA SCORING SUMMARY
Tries: McKinley Hunt (16′, 29′), Alysha Corrigan (26′), Asia Hogan-Rochester (31′), Taylor Perry (50′), Brittany Kassil (55’)
Conversions: Sophie de Goede (6)
UP NEXT FOR CANADA
Canada’s final game of pool play will be against Scotland at Sandy Park in Exeter, England on Saturday, September 6 at 4:00am PT / 7:00am ET (12:00pm local time). Click here for the full Pool B schedule.
Canada Name 23 to Face Wales in Round 2 of World Cup
Coach Kevin Rouet has named his 23 to take on Wales in round 2 of pool play at the World Cup. There are a few changes from the team that defeated Fiji 65-7 in round 1. DaLeaka Menin is the only front row to retain her spot with Hunt and Tuttosi coming off the bench to start. Sophie de Goede remains at second row with veteran Tyson Beukeboom joining her and Courtney O’Donnell going to the reserves. In the loose forwards Karen Paquin gets the start and Fabiola Forteza moving to the bench. The halfback combination remains the same Pelletier and Perry, as does the centre combination of Tessier and Symonds. Asia Hogan-Rochester gets her first start on the wing and is the only change in the back three. It’s a 5-3 split on the bench this match unlike the 6-2 against Fiji, and reserve flyhalf Claire Gallagher comes into play.
Canada have a 10-2 record against Wales and have won the last 7 matches, the last loss was in 2006. The biggest margin of victory for Canada was +52 points. Kick off is at 4am PT and is on TSN.
Canada Roster
1. McKinley Hunt (King City, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Saracens (33 caps)
2. Emily Tuttosi (Souris, MB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (36 caps)
3. DaLeaka Menin (Vulcan, AB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (64 caps)
4. Sophie de Goede (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (36 caps)
5. Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, ON) – Cowichan Piggies / Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders (79 caps)
6. Caroline Crossley (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers (8 caps)
7. Karen Paquin (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Quebec (46 caps)
8. Gabrielle Senft (Regina, SK) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (35 caps)
9. Justine Pelletier (Rivière-du-Loup, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (38 caps)
10. Taylor Perry (Oakville, ON) – Oakville Crusaders / Exeter Chiefs (18 caps)
11. Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON) – Toronto Nomads / Westshore RFC (3 caps)
12. Alexandra Tessier (Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC) – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC / Exeter Chiefs (61 caps)
13. Florence Symonds (Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia (13 caps)
14. Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) – CRFC / Saracens (22 caps)
15. Julia Schell (Uxbridge, ON) – Guelph Goats / Castaway Wanderers / Ealing Trailfinders (27 caps)
16. Gillian Boag (Calgary, AB) – Capilano RFC (34 caps)
17. Brittany Kassil (Guelph, ON) – Guelph Goats (48 caps)
18. Olivia DeMerchant (Mapledale, NB) – Halifax Tars RFC (61 caps)
19. Courtney O’Donnell (Rimbey, AB) – Red Deer Titans Rugby (48 caps)
20. Fabiola Forteza (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (36 caps)
21. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC (20 caps)
22. Claire Gallagher (Caledon, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders (18 caps)
23. Shoshanah Seumanutafa (White Rock, BC) – Counties Manukau (19 caps)
from Rugby Canada
Head Coach Kevin Rouet has announced the match day lineup for Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team as they prepare for their second match of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Canada will take on Wales on Saturday, August 30 at 12:00 p.m. local time (4:00 a.m. PST / 7:00 a.m. EST) at Salford Community Stadium in Manchester, England. The match will be broadcast live on TSN and TSN+.
“Our mindset coming into this World Cup was to take it game by game so now we are focused on Wales and preparing for how they will challenge us on the pitch,” said Rouet. “It was great to start with such a strong performance against Fiji last week but as a team we must shift our mindset to Wales. The squad is excited to get back out there a test ourselves again against another quality opponent.”
Rouet has made a few changes to the roster he selected for Canada’s Rugby World Cup opener against Fiji. McKinley Hunt and Emily Tuttosi, who came off the bench last week, will start in the front row alongside DaLeaka Menin. Karen Paquin, who also came off the bench last week and is playing in her fourth Rugby World Cup, will start at openside flanker.
Asia Hogan-Rochester will join the starting fifteen on the wing, making her Rugby World Cup debut and her first appearance for Canada since suffering an injury against New Zealand earlier this year. Claire Gallagher, named as a reserve for the match, could earn her first Rugby World Cup cap for Canada.
Starting at lock this week and set to earn her 80th cap for Canada is Tyson Beukeboom — already the most-capped Canadian women’s player. She will tie former men’s player Aaron Carpenter as the most-capped Canadian rugby player in history.
WHERE TO WATCH
Canada’s Rugby World Cup against Wales on August 30 will kick off at 12:00pm local time (4:00am PST / 7:00am EST) and will be available on TSN4 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
At the Rugby World Cup in England, Canada will compete in Pool B alongside Scotland, Wales and Fiji. Their final game of pool play will be against Scotland at Salford Community Stadium in Exeter, England on Saturday, September 6 at 4:00am PT / 7:00am ET (12:00pm local time).
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 375,000 tickets have been sold across all matches so far — three times more than the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand.