Canada did what few teams have managed to do – stop England on the trail.
Kevin Rouet’s side ended the Red Roses’ 39-game winning streak with a pulsating 26-26 draw against the world champions at Sandy Park in the WXV Global Series.
Canada came out with a clear goal: to make up for the disappointment of their 2025 women’s tournament Rugby World Cup final defeat. After the opening whistle, they came out firing, matching England with physicality, playing with great attacking intent and refusing to let the Red Roses settle.
Two man-of-the-match tries from DaLeaka Menin and another from Lizzie Gibson helped Canada go into the break at 19-19, before both sides continued to battle it out in a thrilling second half.
England pushed, Canada fought back, and when the final whistle blew, it was 26-26 after a thrilling encounter.
Here’s how Canada rated against the Red Roses…
15. Claire Gallagher – 6
It was not her best performance by her usual high standards. However, Gallagher still provided some great moments and was heavily involved early on, producing a wonderful backline move with a timely switch to Asia Hogan-Rochester during Canada’s early attacking pressure.
The full-back was unable to stop a Zoe Harrison special, with 50-22 buying the Red Roses a great attacking position, but Gallagher applied plenty of pressure as England looked to build from the resulting position.
The 26-year-old also cleared full under pressure, giving England a significant attacking opportunity which was finished by Claudia Moloney-MacDonald.
In the end, it wasn’t the best day at the office for Gallagher, but she still provided some great moves, carries and support for her side.
14. Asia Hogan-Rochester – 7.5
Hogan-Rochester was a constant threat with ball in hand and showed plenty of attacking brilliance.
They were dealt with by Claudia Moloney-MacDonald and Ellie Killdune when Canada was on English territory, but they still looked dangerous whenever they were in space.
After appearing to get a phenomenal effort under the post, spotting space, accelerating hard and impressively giving a couple of Red Roses to get there, the official’s call that there was a slight forward pass by Taylor Perry meant it was off.
However, the winger didn’t let that stop them and got into England’s 22 with a powerful carry and also did brilliantly to collect a huge interception and clearance from Zoe Harrison to hold the Red Roses out for another score.
Tremendous footwork and ability to step past defenders made Hogan-Rochester one of Canada’s most dangerous forwards against England.
13. Florence Symonds – 8.5
Pace, pace and more pace. Outstanding performer today in my opinion.
Symonds had a very strong first half and was constantly involved in Canada’s defensive and attacking efforts. She produced a fantastic steal and made a huge defensive switch to keep Jess Breach from crossing the line early.
Her footwork was next level as well, constantly outpacing the Red Roses defenders and she also set up her feet brilliantly to force a mistake from Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, no mean feat.
A truly exciting performance from the 24-year-old.
12. Aleksandra Tesija – 6
Today was Tessier’s 70th game and she wanted to leave her mark on the occasion.
The inside center helped with ball movement and communication, but in the end, it wasn’t her strongest outing, with several missed tackles and handling errors due to the fat ball.
11. Charity Williams – 7.5
A huge shift in combat and plenty of pace is what Charity Williams brought to the party.
She was constantly involved defensively, including an impressive shut down from Ellie Kildunne on the wing and recovered in time to stop Jess Breach.
One of her best moments came when she fought off four Red Rose players and somehow managed to escape from the touchline, showing tremendous strength. She also showed off her ridiculous pace when she came back to help cover Zoe Harrison’s shot which was intercepted and cleared.
Really promising work from Williams in only her second appearance for Canada.
10. Taylor Perry – 8.5
Wow. Taylor Perry sure got involved today. He seemed to pop up all over the court in tackles and scrimmages, constantly communicating with his teammates and helping to control the game.
A fantastic carry, followed by excellent footwork, was another highlight of her performance.
A huge turn on Ellie Kildunne, who seemed more or less sane in my opinion, really topped off a superb performance. Really great outing in Canada jersey for Perry.
9. Olivia Apps – 7
It wasn’t quite the same man-of-the-match performance from a week ago for Apps, with a few unusual errors and typos.
However, to no one’s surprise, there was still a lot of quick ball and she did well inside Sophie de Goede to get a fantastic try around 60 minutes.
She also made a great tackle on Sadia Kebaya, pushing the Englishman into touch. Overall it was a solid performance – just probably not on the same level as last week.
1. Mikiela Nelson – 6.5
Nelson stepped up to the plate and made some great moves against the Red Roses, probably the highlights being her huge carry and low body position that took her straight to the try line.
The move was powerful and set up DaLeak Mena’s second try of the match. She looked completely comfortable inside the flank and made some great moves and tackles during her time on the field.
2. Kiki Idowu – 7
Huge swings in shots, great tackles and strong defense overall. Idowu kept shutting down England’s attack and showed great skill.
The 21-year-old continued to show great talent, with a powerful drive towards England and a huge strike as Canada looked to break through the forwards, some of her best work. Impressive work bitch.
3. DaLeaka Menin – 9
Menin showed a great performance and was deservedly named the best player.
Spotting a gap and converting from close range for Canada’s second try of the game, the front row secured her 14th try for her country.
She then scored once again for the second score right at halftime.
Great turnovers, strong carries and plenty of attacking pressure rounded off an excellent performance, with Menin popping up and creating pressure all over the field.
4. Sophie de Goede – 8
De Goede narrowly missed her first conversion, but made no mistake with the other three attempts.
As always, she was extremely vocal and provided strong leadership throughout the competition, while also throwing herself into tackles and handshakes.
And then came the moment that summed up exactly what De Goede brings to Canada. An absolutely huge carry from halfway, followed by a perfectly timed pass to Liv Apps on her inside, saw Apps get Canada’s fourth score.
She fended off Helena Rowland and other Red Rose defenders to gain impressive meters and then converted with ease. Great outing by the Canadian leader.
5. Laetitia Royer – 6
Royer put in a solid shift, with a number of strong pick-and-gos that helped Canada get through.
She was also on Apps’ shoulder when the scrum-half tried to get through the England defense and she read the game very well.
6. Rachel Smith – 8
A really promising and exciting talent, who provided plenty of turnovers, tackles and picks throughout the competition.
Hannah Botterman jumped over and won a huge turnover, putting Canada in a great position for their second try.
The 25-year-old also scored a big try against Maud Muir and seemed to be making some great tackles all over the court. The fantastic pick-and-go was definitely another highlight as the flankers kept throwing her wherever her side needed her.
7. Julia Omokhuale – 6
A huge turnover from Omokhuale was probably her biggest contribution today.
She went right over the ball and made a great steal on Alex Matthews, giving Canada another important moment of possession and defensive pressure.
Omokhuale continues to impress in Canada and it would be great to see her impact throughout the rest of the WXV Global Series.
8. Lizzie Gibson – 6.5
After an excellent performance against Scotland last week, it was a slightly quieter outing for Gibson.
However, she made an immediate impact. A brilliant pick-and-go saw Gibson step up to score the first try of the game, following on from her two tries last week against Scotland.
She put in a good shift in defense and played an important role in her 55 minutes on the pitch.
Replacements –
By the time the substitutions came on, Canada had been met with wave after wave of Red Rose attacks and they had helped hold on quite strongly. Justine Pelletier was outstanding off the bench to help see out a draw with the reigning 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup champions.
