WXV Global Series
Canada (5) 24
Tries: Bauder, Corrigan, Menin, Seumanutafa Cons: De Goede (2)
England (14) 21
Tries: Feaunati, Harrison, Bern Cons: Harrison (3)
England head coach John Mitchell challenged his Red Roses to “find something more” after their 41-match unbeaten streak – dating back almost four years – ended in dramatic fashion as Shoshanah Seumanutafa’s late try handed Canada a thrilling 24-21 victory in Toronto.
Canada, who previously snapped England’s 39-match winning run with a 26-26 draw in Exeter in September, are the first team to defeat them since November 2022, when they lost to New Zealand in the World Cup final.
Playing in front of 18,621 fans, a record for a standalone women’s fixture in North America, the result also marks England’s first defeat by Canada since 2016 and their first against their hosts on Canadian soil, having won their previous 11 away matches.
Canada’s Savannah Bauder took advantage of Zoe Harrison’s yellow card to open the scoring in the 15th minute, but it was England who took a 14-5 half-time lead, hitting back late in the first half through Maddie Feaunati and Harrison, with Laetitia Royer in the sin-bin for the hosts.
Sarah Bern cancelled out a stylish solo try from the hosts’ Alysha Corrigan early in the second half to preserve England’s nine-point lead before Canada’s DaLeaka Menin crashed over for a converted score just after the hour mark to set up a tense finale.
Three minutes from time, Canada mounted an attack from halfway after a fumble put Harrison’s clearing kick under pressure, and replacement Seumanutafa charged down the left wing to complete the comeback.
“We’re disappointed by the result but there was some very good things in our performance. So we’ll stick to our processes,” said Mitchell, following his first defeat since being appointed in late 2023.
“I guess [the loss] frees us up and allows us to find more. I know this group has got more in them. Sometimes it requires the context that we’ve just received to dig deeper and find something more.”
The two sides will renew their rivalry in Ottawa on Friday, 23 October (in the early hours of Saturday on UK time) before England conclude their 2026 WXV Global Series against the USA in New Jersey on Friday, 30 October (21:15 GMT).
‘We’re still world champions, we’re still number one’
This result has been coming for England, who showcased vulnerability in their three WXV Global Series home matches in September.
Against Australia, the world champions trailed at half-time for the first time since 2020 before roaring back with seven second-half tries for a 48-15 win. The following week, Canada held them to a draw in Exeter while a nail-biting 26-19 win over New Zealand at Twickenham was secured with the clock in the red.
This time, Canada’s defensive resilience in the face of repeated attacks kept the world champions off the scoreboard until the 32nd minute, but England also lacked a clinical touch in their opponents’ 22, with multiple opportunities going begging. Notably, Claudia Moloney-MacDonald had an early try chalked off for a knock-on in the grounding.
In defence, multiple penalties afforded Canada the freedom to form free-flowing attacks while it was an individual handling error when delivering the ball to fly-half Harrison which gave the hosts field position to score their match-winning try.
The result places England in uncharted territory, with several players in the squad never having tasted defeat on the international stage – winger Jess Breach was unbeaten in her previous 59 caps.
But for captain Meg Jones, it is no time to panic. England are “still world champions” and her message is simple: “Stick together, look out for each other, and we go again.”
She added: “We’ve got to remember, there’s a target on our back continuously. Everyone’s got that underdog mentality, that underdog fight.
“We’ve got to be in a position now where we’ve got to be the quickest to respond. That’s the nature of the game.
“What an amazing achievement for us as a group. I think they will go down in history as one of the best sporting teams.
“We’re still world champions, we’re still number one, and we’ll still keep pushing to be the best we possibly can.”
Canada avenge World Cup final defeat
In September, Canada captain Sophie de Goede confessed she still has sleepless nights about her side’s World Cup final defeat by England in 2025.
Even after ending the Red Roses’ winning run in Exeter, she was frustrated at being denied the opportunity to go for the win, although reluctantly conceding that head coach Kevin Rouet’s call to kick the ball dead was the sensible one.
After a historic performance in Toronto, where De Goede’s side showcased “the DNA of our team” and “found a way to win”, sleep might once again be hard to come by – albeit for far happier reasons.
While several Canadian players play their club rugby in England’s Premiership Women’s Rugby, the national side – ranked third in the world – does not benefit from the same facilities or depth of talent as the Red Roses, even launching a crowdfunding campaign before the last World Cup to cover the cost of their training camps.
In the aftermath of their run to the final, the country’s government announced a new 775m Canadian dollars (£401m) fund for sport in Canada.
Achieving both an attendance record and victory over England in their first home match since August 2025 demonstrates the growing momentum behind women’s rugby in the country.
“It’s a little bit more than just the score at the end because we won on so many levels,” added scrum-half Justine Pelletier. “Off the field, the crowd, being home. That win at the end on the pitch was just the cherry on [top].
“It was good to beat England but I think for a few years now, we knew that we could beat them. It was just a matter of time and a matter of putting every detail together.”
Line-ups
England: Kildunne; Breach, Jones, Heard, Moloney-MacDonald; Harrison, L Packer; Botterman, Cokayne, Bern, Talling, Ives Campion, Burton, Matthews, Feaunati.
Replacements: Field, Carson, Muir, Short, Kabeya, Hunt, Rowland, Sing.
Sin-bin: Harrison (13)
Canada: Bauder; Corrigan, Symonds, Perry, Hogan-Rochester; Tessier, Apps; Nelson, Idowu, Menin, de Goede, Royer, Smith, Omokhuale, Gibson.
Replacements: Tuttosi, Kassil, Rempel, Forteza, Buisa, Senft, Pelletier, Seumanutafa.
Sin-bin: Royer (30)
Officials
Referee: Aurelie Groizeleau (Fra)
Assistant referees: Luke Rogan (USA) and Amelia Luciano (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)