women
international women
Sophie de Goede believes Canada’s back-to-back wins against England’s Red Roses marked a significant step forward for the North Americans.
in recent years, Canada have established themselves as one of the leading nations in women’s test rugby. However, consistently beating fellow top four teams proved to be a more difficult challenge.
Perhaps the best example of this was in Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Kévin Rouet’s side stun the Black Ferns in the semi-finals, before knocking them out England 33-13 a week later at Allianz Stadium in the final.
So beating the Red Roses on back-to-back weekends in Toronto and Ottawa in their WXV Global Series home games was significant for Canada.
“After Toronto, the feeling was excitement, happiness and joy,” De Goede said RugbyPass.
“It was the whole spectacle of everything and the fact that we were able to get a result. After Ottawa, there was more relief and exhaustion.”
“There was a lot of pressure on us going into the second game,” she continued, “historically over the last year we haven’t played well in back-to-back big games.
“There was a lot of riding that week (in Ottawa) and there was a lot of work that we had to do as a leadership group to make sure that everyone was in the right space and that the team was responding in the right way.”
That renewed confidence could prove invaluable for Canada in the long run. Coming so close to asking Women’s Rugby World Cup title just over a year ago, they started the new World Cup cycle very well.
When the 2027 Pacific Four Series – where they take on the Black Ferns, Wallaroos and USA Women’s Eagles – Coming up, it will be six months since Canada last played a game.
“We finally got the result we’ve been chasing for a while, and I think that creates confidence within the group,” De Goede said.
“You’re leaving with a good taste in your mouth. Everyone’s feeling a lot of confidence. Everyone’s in good situations before we get to the PAC4. We’ll be looking to get to the PAC4 and get the title back.”
“We will also be looking for a good win against New Zealand to start the year (2027) and then Australia and the US too.”
Pacific Four Series ambition isn’t all De Goede has in mind. Last week, the most followed rugby player on social media, Ilona Maher, announced that she was returning to the sevens field.
With the start of the new HSBC SVNS Series season coming at the end of November and the Olympic qualifiers on the cards at the end of this campaign, the road to LA28 is accelerating.
In recent years, Canada’s ‘One Squad’ mentality has seen a number of players regularly rotate between sevens and 15-a-side rugby.
Saracens teammate Olivia Apps has seen her game improve, as has Alysha Corrigan.
Ahead of the new season, cross-code stars Pamphinette Buisa, Chloe Daniels and Florence Symonds have signed for JAECOO Premiership women’s rugby club, Loughborough Lightning.
It was during the preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris a little more than two years ago that De Goede tore her anterior wrist. That injury prevented the 27-year-old from being part of the team that won the silver medal in 2024.
“I would really like to serve Canadian rugby in both rules – I think I can do that,” De Goede said.
“On a personal level, I really want to go to the Olympics. I was pretty devastated last time.
“I haven’t had a chance to play seven since I got hurt. We’ll see. I think it’s going to be a few weeks.”
“Whether I’m any better at it, who knows. It would definitely be a learning curve again.”
In any case, before any potential return to the back seven, De Goede must first return to Saracens. Her final act at the north London club last season was to help the team end their four-year wait for the English Premier League title.
Saracens begin their new season on Sunday 22nd November against Leicester Tigers at StoneX Stadium, with the lock looking to retain the title on the front foot.
“We want to go out and assert ourselves in the game,” De Goede said. “It’s a big prospect that we’re going to have. We want to defend the title and get back at each other.”
“I think we’re going to really attack the way we approach it. We don’t want to just sit back and try to hang on for the whole season.”