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Canada supported last week’s historic win over England with another dominant performance in Ottawa, earning a 31-22 victory in front of a packed TD Place.
The hosts produced two stunning halves of rugby and led for almost the entire 80 minutes, taking the game by the throat in the second half to claim a second straight win over John Mitchell’s England.
Canada dominated the contact area in the first half, giving their outside back front feet the ball as England struggled to keep pace.
Mitchell’s side, however, dominated for a while, but it wasn’t enough as Canada stunned the reigning world champions.
Here are some talking points from TD Place.
Variations, tempo and combinations
Canada’s offense was incredibly impressive at TD Place. They kept England honest in defence, and Kevin Rowett’s side showed a different picture, forcing England’s defense to collapse in a number of tackles.
It was menacing, relentless and with a sub-par set piece, it simply kept them in the game. Mitchell’s England were their biggest enemy in defence, but on the other hand, Canada made them pay.
Daleaka Menin and Julia Omokhuale carried with intent; Lizzie Gibson topped the number of holders with eleven in the first half, making 45 meters in the process, but a combination of power and silky footwork put England under the most pressure.
The chemistry between the back line and the forwards gave Canada’s attack an effective variation, facilitated by the success of one-time runners. The home team used interplay and quick passing to move England’s defense from one side to the other, resulting in several scoring opportunities and constant going forward.
The second half was much the same, with Sophie de Goede producing several moments of magic, along with her hard-working teammates setting the platform magnificently.
Rouet has his squad firing on all cylinders.
The first half is cat and mouse
The first half in Ottawa was a classic case of cat and mouse. England’s set pieces outplayed and outplayed Canada at times, and their breakdown work was magnificent, but the home side were the better team on the break.
In the fundamental parts of rugby, and the areas where games are often won and lost, England dominated. But international rugby does funny things.
England won a couple of scrambling and breaking penalties, but defensively they were too passive and when they put Canada under pressure, they were often pinged for offside.
Canada made the most of their chances when they came and their attack was too dangerous for England to contain.
The first half was back and forth, but the home team took advantage of their chances. The fight was intense, and both sides tried to break away from each other.
Although the score looked close at halftime, the statistics told the real story. Canada forced England into 133 tackles in the first half, 15 missed, while the home side made just 93. Rouet’s side had 59 percent of the territory, slightly more possession and completely and utterly dominated the scrum area.
Changing of the guard?
In hindsight, England were intercepted at the last second of their four-match winless run.
The Black Ferns invaded Twickenham just under a month ago and were punished by Mitchell.
But after two defeats to Canada, in Canada, England now have work to do to regain dominance.
Kiwis, who took fourth place France until the match a week ago in Hamilton, they are not far from the top under new head coach Whitney Hansen. Having shown their class not only in 2026 but also showing promising signs in 2025, Rouet’s Canada are a force to be reckoned with in international rugby.
England are world champions and will no doubt respond in the coming weeks, but the state of women’s international rugby is not as clear-cut as it was almost a year ago.
