If anyone thought that Canada Coach Kévin Rouet could slow down, catch his breath and reflect on an impressive run of two wins and a draw against world champions England, then they clearly don’t know the man.
Just over a week after Canada won their second straight match over the Red Roses, the Frenchman was in London catching up with a few of his Canadian players, most notably Claire Gallagher who pulled the strings as Trailfinders The women fought back Sale Sharks get to JAECOO PWR NextGen Cup Final.
A day later he was on a flight to Georgia, where he will pass on his experience to the Canadians as they continue their Nations Cup campaign.
This will allow him to stay in touch with the Canadian women who will next be in action in the spring of 2027 Pacific Four Series fight them against Australia, New Zealand and USA, who finished second after losing at home to the Black Fearns this year.
“It’s a positive for our program, just a year too late,” Rouet said RugbyPass. “It’s a positive though that we can win more games and we’ve pushed through some new players to increase the depth of those who can compete against England, so that’s all good and positive.
“We’re playing New Zealand in our first game and New Zealand are in a good mood. I’m in awe of what they’re doing and we have to be ready to improve. They can prepare because they’re in the off-season and we’re not.”
In addition to Canada’s treble against England, Rouet’s side also won Scotland 64-26 in Edinburgh, but fell to a 21-5 loss France La Rochelle.
That match came a week after Canada’s 26-26 draw England in Exeter, though they got it out of their system when they returned home for games in Toronto and Ottawa.
If they needed a late Shoshanah Seumanutafa try in the first leg 24-21, they showed maturity and confidence in the second. In Ottawa, they kept England on the back foot with their speed and ability to force mistakes and capitalize on the chances they created to win 31-22.
It might have been three wins from three had Gallagher not kicked the ball into touch in the final game at Sandy Park. The result did end England’s 39-game winning streak and show that Canada is on the right track.
“Even if people don’t care about the draw, the draw is something to build on,” Rouet said. “We didn’t win, but we were in the game. We didn’t do well in the last 20 minutes, so we could see that if we manage those minutes better, we can get a better result.
“The emotion meant we weren’t in control, but in the second game we definitely knew we could do it, so we controlled our emotions more and knew what we had to do.
“We dealt with the emotions of the game. We still weren’t good in the scrum but we managed the rest of the game better. Against England, if you don’t win the scrum you have to win in many other aspects of the game and we didn’t let losing the scrum affect us too much.”
The biggest positive from the Canadian series was the appearance of female players who will strengthen the squad that reached the women’s level Rugby World Cup the final. Many have now caught the attention of JAECOO Women’s Rugby Premiership head coaches and will grow in importance as the 2029 World Cup approaches.
“Kiki Idowu, my whore was amazing,” said Rouet. “Lizzie Gibson, our number 8 was one of the players who came through after the World Cup. Gabrielle Senft, our number six, and Savannah Bauder full back already have their starting jerseys. That means a lot and means they are ready.”
“They will come to PWR already prepared. This is different and they add value to PWR immediately. They can compete against England and although they may need a few more games (to settle), PWR will provide rugby that they cannot get in Canada.”
Rouet knows PWR rugby well. He has assisted reigning champions Saracens and a number of his players feature in the league, including captain and star Sophie de Goode, vice-captain Alex Tessier and livewire scrum-half Olivia Apps.
By the time their match against New Zealand rolls around, Julia Schell should also be back in action, with the Trailfinder fullback estimating it will be two months before she returns from her ACL injury.
Having players in PWR is a double-edged sword for Rouet. While the players play a high level of rugby every week, Rouet has less control than if they stayed in Canada.
Canada made headlines around the world when it emerged that they had raised the money to buy themselves the time they needed to build together Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025
Rouet admits that while he’s not involved in the finances, a double win over England in front of a big home crowd won’t hurt when it comes to seeking funding from various bodies in Canada.
“I’m not involved, but we raised the funds to win the World Cup,” Rouet said. “We could have gone to the World Cup without these funds, but we wanted to win the World Cup. We wanted more time together and you saw a product that means more time together.”
“Now we’ve tried to do it every year, not just every four years. If I have more access to the players and more time together, we’ll continue to improve, so the government funding and sponsorship doesn’t hurt.”