Canada End England’s Unbeaten Run as Belief Becomes Proof in Toronto
By Nii Wallace-Bruce
From Possibility to Proof
There is a difference between believing you can beat the best and actually doing it. Canada had spent years approaching that threshold against England’s Red Roses. In Toronto, they finally crossed it winning 24-21.
The 26-26 draw in Exeter had already challenged the assumptions surrounding this rivalry. England, the reigning world champions and the dominant force in the women’s international game, had been held.
Canada had demonstrated that the gap was no longer what it once was.
But a draw leaves room for qualification. A victory does not.
There was a genuine rugby atmosphere while walking into the Exhibition Grounds surrounding BMO Field. Rugby clubs gathered outside the gates.
Junior club players were mascots for both sides as they walked out onto the field. A steady downpour of rain did not dampen spirits just before kick off. A new North American record crowd would be set at 18,621. Canada ended England’s extraordinary unbeaten run and delivered the result their performances had been threatening. This was not simply another close contest against the Red Roses.
It was evidence that Canada could impose themselves on the world’s leading side and finish the job. New levels were set on and off the field in Toronto.
“We've been close so many times,” DaLeaka Menin told reporters afterwards, describing the significance of moving beyond merely competing with the best.
“And so this is just the first step to, I think, really starting that competition with England.”
The Foundations of a Landmark
The victory was built on something more substantial than occasion or emotion.
Canada had to withstand England’s pressure immediately after kick-off, disrupt their attacking rhythm and find solutions when the contest threatened to turn against them.
England began well, building through their set piece and absorbing Canada’s early efforts.
Head coach John Mitchell acknowledged that his side had established a platform in the first half, but failed to regain the ascendancy they expected after the interval.
Canada’s response was telling with line breaks and winning turnovers setting the team up to gain territory quickly.
Their discipline had created problems earlier in the match, allowing England opportunities to enter the danger zone. But when those opportunities came, the hosts increasingly found ways to escape.
Head coach Kevin Rouet pointed to the contribution of his replacements, whose energy helped Canada maintain the pressure rather than retreat into survival mode.
The effect was cumulative. England could not settle into the sort of sustained control that had underpinned their extraordinary run. Canada continued to contest the breakdown, press defensively and force decisions. Even when England reached the Canadian 22, the hosts repeatedly found a way to recover possession or win a penalty.
Sophie de Goede and Justine Pelletier emphasised the importance of that resilience.
Canada had to improve their defensive width against England’s willingness to play wide from the breakdown, while maintaining the intensity of their line speed.
The objective was not simply to make tackles. It was to prevent England from turning possession into momentum.
“We were ruthless in that zone in defence,” de Goede told reporters, praising the players who protected their line under pressure.
That ruthlessness became one of the defining features of the match. Canada was not perfect, Rouet admitted, but they were able to win despite their mistakes.
Against a side of England’s quality, that is a significant step.
Florence Symonds’ last-ditch tackle helped turn a near certain try into a knock-on by Claudia Moloney-MacDonald (Photo Credit: Marc Eymé)
A Forward Pack That Refused to Yield
The scrum offered another measure of Canada’s progress.
England have long treated their set piece as a platform for control, using their power and technical proficiency to establish territory and dictate the terms of a contest.
Canada knew they would have to confront that strength, particularly after the lessons of previous meetings.
The result was not unqualified dominance. De Goede acknowledged that Canada had lost some of the parity they had established in Exeter, and that England’s scrum remained a formidable weapon.
But the Canadian pack continued to compete, adapting when the contest became difficult rather than allowing one area of the game to determine the outcome.
Rouet had prepared his players for precisely that possibility. Matching England in the scrum was desirable, but it was not the only route to victory.
“The best part of the game of England is their scrum,” he said. “We have other ways to win this game.”
Canada needed their set piece to provide a platform, but they could not afford to become so preoccupied with matching England in one department that they neglected the rest of the contest.
Menin embodied that broader approach. Her carrying offered Canada another means of advancing into English territory, while her performance challenged the familiar stereotypes attached to front-row forwards.
Further, Menin scored in the second half, her third try in two Tests against the Red Roses.
As Tuttosi told PSP Media, the Canadian prop was tactically intelligent, technically accomplished and capable of lasting 80 minutes in an international contest against the world champions.
Canada's forwards were not simply there to create quick ball for their backs. They were rugby players capable of making decisions, carrying at pace and contributing directly to the attacking threat.
That versatility matters against England. A team that can challenge their set piece while creating opportunities elsewhere is harder to contain.
England’s forward pack is considered to be the best in women’s rugby (Photo Credit: Marc Eymé)
The Crowd That Changed the Atmosphere
The rugby was played against a backdrop that deserves its own place in the story.
Over eighteen thousand people turned out in Toronto, creating an atmosphere that was felt on both sides of the contest. England’s players and coaches struggled at times to communicate from the coaching area.
For Canada, the noise was something to harness.
The significance extended beyond the volume inside the stadium. Tuttosi described the experience of arriving at the ground to find supporters lining the route, cheering the players as they stepped off the bus.
The response continued during the warm-up and intensified as the match unfolded.
For players accustomed to representing their country overseas, where many Canadian internationals pursue their club careers, the experience of feeling that support at home carried particular weight.
“You always get told people are behind you,” Tuttosi explained. “But then, to be feeling the energy and hearing the energy and the roar of the crowd, I think, is something that none of us take for granted.”
The attendance also spoke to a wider shift in women's sport.
The success of the 2025 Rugby World Cup had helped bring women's rugby to a larger audience, but the challenge is to sustain that attention beyond the tournament itself.
Mitchell, despite the defeat, welcomed the visibility and atmosphere. The game, he argued, needed crowds and continued public engagement rather than waiting for another World Cup to bring it into focus.
Canada's victory provided a compelling demonstration of what that visibility can look like: a major international contest, a substantial home crowd and a result that carried consequences for the global game.
For the players, the support was not merely a reward for their performances. It was a reminder of the communities behind them and the young athletes watching what might be possible.
A record North American crowd saw Canada rise above the defending World Champions (Photo Credit: Marc Eymé)
England's Streak Ends. The Rivalry Begins to Grow.
England's unbeaten run had become one of the defining records of the modern women's game.
By the time Canada faced them in Toronto, the Red Roses had won 39 consecutive matches before drawing with Canada in Exeter, leaving their unbeaten sequence at 41 matches heading into the second Test.
The defeat was a genuine watershed, but it did not erase what England had achieved. Mitchell was quick to acknowledge the players and staff who had established the standards behind that run.
He also recognised that Canada had earned the respect that comes with challenging the world's leading team and delivering a decisive result.
England have other established rivalries, particularly with New Zealand, whose history of World Cup success has repeatedly tested the Red Roses. Canada are now strengthening their own claim to that company.
There was another piece of history at stake, too.
By defeating England, Canada took possession of the Utrecht Shield, the unofficial lineal championship of women's international rugby, whose lineage stretches back to the first women's Test in 1982.
The Shield is a different measure of supremacy from a World Cup or world ranking. It passes to the team that defeats its holder, making every subsequent Test a defence of the title.
England had retained it in Exeter through the draw. Toronto changed that.
For Canada, the symbolism was fitting: the team that had come so close to beating England had now taken something tangible from the reigning world champions.
That does not mean one victory suddenly makes the teams equals in every respect. England retain their depth, experience and formidable set piece.
Canada still have work to do, and Rouet was clear that his side had made enough mistakes to know the performance could improve.
Canada no longer need to point only to narrow margins or encouraging performances as evidence of their potential. They have beaten England. They know what that requires, and England know it too.
For the Red Roses, the immediate task is to respond. Megan Jones spoke of the importance of togetherness after defeat, describing the need to review the performance, learn from it and move forward as a group. Mitchell similarly expects his players to examine the setback and find ways to improve.
The unbeaten run is gone. The standards that sustained it remain.
Red Roses coach John Mitchell was quick to praise Canada despite the defeat and end to England’s unbeaten streak (Photo Credit: Marc Eymé)
Ottawa is the Next Test
Canada's challenge now is to ensure that Toronto becomes a foundation rather than a destination.
Rouet made the point immediately after the final whistle: once a team wins a match of this magnitude, it wants to do it again. The satisfaction is real, but so is the opportunity to build on it.
The third Test in Ottawa will ask a different question. They must show they can sustain the level of performance, concentration and resilience that made the victory possible.
That means managing discipline more consistently, finding solutions when the scrum does not provide an advantage and maintaining the defensive intensity that repeatedly frustrated England.
It also means resisting the temptation to treat the result as the completion of a journey.
For Canada, the longer horizon extends beyond this series. De Goede spoke of the ambition to become a team capable of winning major matches consistently, while Rouet pointed to the 2029 World Cup as a central objective.
One win cannot deliver that future. It can, however, change the way a team approaches it.
For now, the Red Roses' streak is over, and Canadian rugby has a result to build upon.
Sources:
Kevin Rouet, Canada Head Coach, press conference, 16 October 2026
Sophie de Goede, Canada captain, press conference, 16 October 2026
DaLeaka Menin, Canada player, press conference, 16 October 2026
Emily Tuttosi, Canada player, press conference, 16 October 2026
Justine Pelletier, Canada player, press conference, 16 October 2026
John Mitchell, England Head Coach, press conference, 16 October 2026
Megan Jones, England player, press conference, 16 October 2026
Photo Credits:
Symonds try-saver tackle on Moloney-MacDonald, Marc Eymé, 16 October 2026 - Photo courtesy of assignment by PSP Media
Corrigan tattoo, Marc Eymé, 16 October 2026 - Photo courtesy of assignment by PSP Media
Semanutafa winning try, Marc Eymé, 16 October 2026 - Photo courtesy of assignment by PSP Media
England forward pack holding up, Marc Eymé, 16 October 2026 - Photo courtesy of assignment by PSP Media
Canada wins lineout, Marc Eymé, 16 October 2026 - Photo courtesy of assignment by PSP Media
John Mitchell profile, Marc Eymé, 16 October 2026 - Photo courtesy of assignment by PSP Media
Video Credits:
Semanutafa winning try, The Sports Network, 16 October 2026 - Video courtesy of @TSN_Sports on X
All photos are used with permission. All rights reserved to the creator.
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