Canada's DaLeaka Menin is tackled by England's Hannah Botterman, right, during the match in Toronto on Friday.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
Having put a dent in top-ranked England’s aura of invincibility with a 26-26 draw last month, the Canadian women finished the job on Friday.
Shoshanah Seumanutafa’s 78th-minute try completed a spirited comeback as third-ranked Canada snapped England’s 41-match undefeated run with a gritty 24-21 win in WXV Global Series rugby play.
The Canadians had halted the Red Roses’ record win streak at 39 with the Sept. 19 draw in Exeter. They went one better on home soil before a wildly enthusiastic crowd on a cool evening at BMO Field.
The Canadian players celebrated the win like it was 1999. And for good reason.
Prior to last month’s draw, they had lost 14 straight to England since a 52-17 win in July 2016. That run included a 33-13 defeat in the World Cup final in September 2025 before a women’s record crowd of 81,885 at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.
Friday’s triumph does not make up for that. But it shows that the Canadian women, who play a free-flowing style of rugby under coach Kevin Rouet, are a force to be reckoned with.
“We won on so many levels today,” said scrum half Justine Pelletier. “Off the field, the crowd … The win, at the end, on the pitch was the cherry on the sundae.”
But it was just one victory, with both Canada and England building for the 2029 World Cup. The Red Roses’ career record against Canada stands at 34-4-2 after their first loss in 12 games on Canadian soil.
And England can even the WXV rubber match next Friday when the two sides meet again in Ottawa.
“You’ve got to remember, teams are coming out to beat us. They’re going to put their best foot forward,” said England captain Megan Jones. “It’s the nature of it. So we’ve got to make sure we’ve got our best foot forward as well.”
Canada will remain No. 3 in the rankings unless No. 4 France beats No. 2 New Zealand Saturday. A France win would see the Canadians move up one rung.
Savannah Bauder, Alysha Corrigan and DaLeaka Menin also scored tries for Canada. Sophie de Goede kicked two conversions.
England's Zoe Harrison (10) moves to tackle Canada's Alysha Corrigan (14) as she runs with the ball during the first half.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
Maddie Feaunati, Zoe Harrison and Sarah Bern scored tries for England. Harrison added three conversions for the Red Roses.
Canada and England each stand at 2-1-1 in WXV play.
It was a heavyweight scrap, long on intensity but often short on execution. There were errors aplenty.
There was also excitement as the Canadians came on strong in the second half, looking to close the gap. England showed its character – and set-piece superiority – in the face of the Canadian surge.
‘More than anything I feel proud of the way we that found a way to win that game,” said de Goede. “It wasn’t easy.”
Rouet’s post-game message to his players was simple.
“As soon as you do it once, you want to do it twice,” said the French-born coach, who said he lost his voice during the game.
“It was a great game of rugby to watch,” he added. “We know we were not perfect. We made a lot of mistakes and still got the win. I know we still have a lot to work on.”
Friday’s contest was the first for the Canadian women in the Toronto area since a pair of losses to England in nearby Oakville in August 2011.
The Canadian players celebrate a try by Savannah Bauder during the first half.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
And the crowd was up for it, with the noise level rising every time the Canadians moved up the field. England coach John Mitchell, who suffered his first loss at England’s helm after 30 wins and one draw, said his coaching staff had trouble communicating because of the stadium din.
Both teams bent but didn’t break in the early going. Canada held off the English time and time again in the first half, pulling ahead 5-0 before England scored a pair of late tries to lead 14-5 at the break.
Canada struck early in the second half with Corrigan retrieving her own grubber kick for an elegant converted try that cut the lead to 14-12.
Bern crashed over three minutes later for a 21-12 England lead.
Canada attacked in waves and Menin, a hard-nosed prop, went over from close range in the 64th minute to cut the England lead to 21-19.
The two teams meet again next Friday in Ottawa.
Attendance was announced at 18,621, a North American record for a women’s rugby match, according to Rugby Canada.
The Canadian women’s previous record home attendance was 11,453 for the August 2025 game against the U.S. in Ottawa, the last time they played on home soil.
The Canadian men drew a Canadian-record 20,396 when they hosted Ireland at BMO Field in June 2013. Attendance for the Canada-Maori All Blacks men’s game at Vancouver’s B.C. Place in November 2017 was higher (29,480) but the game was not considered an official international test match.
The North American record for a men’s rugby game is 68,173, set at last month’s match between New Zealand’s All Blacks and South Africa’s Springboks at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium.
The Canadian women’s soccer team drew an announced crowd of just 12,112 for a 4-3 friendly loss to Denmark at BMO Field on Monday.
England had 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 stood at 1,434 days.
The Red Roses had won 70 of its previous 72 tests dating back to 2018 (the other defeat was a 28-13 loss to New Zealand in July 2019).
Mitchell was calm in defeat.
“This team, when it does get a setback, it generally learns quicker,” he said.
In taking charge of Friday’s match, French referee Aurélie Groizeleau became the fourth female to referee 50 tests.
A sixth-minute try by England’s Claudia Moloney-MacDonald was waved off after video review determined the wing had not touched the ball down cleanly. At the other end, a Canada attack fizzled at the goal-line.
With Harrison in the sin-bin for 10 minutes for too many England penalties, Canada took advantage when Bauder scored in the corner on an overlap for a 5-0 lead in the 16th minute.
Influential Canadian fly half Alex Tessier was replaced in the 30th minute after a head injury assessment. Lock Laetitia Royer was sin-binned soon after as Canada was dinged for persistent infractions
With Canada down a player in the scrum, England scored off the set piece with Feaunati bulling her way over in the 33rd minute for a converted try and 7-5 England lead.
Harrison cut through the Canadian defence in the 38th minute to add to the lead.
The Canadian starting 15 went into the game with a combined 387 caps with the eight replacements on the bench totalling 299 caps. That experience helped tip the balance in the second half.
England’s starting 15 had a combined 780 caps with another 291 caps on the bench.
Veteran Canadian forward Tyson Beukeboom, who announced her retirement earlier Friday, was honoured before kickoff. The 35-year-old lock from Uxbridge, Ont., leaves as Canada’s most capped player with 84 appearances after making her debut against England in July 2013.
Beukeboom, who represented Canada at four World Cups, was enveloped in a group hug as the Canadian women came off the field from their warmup.