Canada women's national rugby union team

For the men's team, see Canada national rugby union team. For the women's sevens team, see Canada women's national rugby sevens team. For the women's rugby league team, see Canada women's national rugby league team.

Canada
Shirt badge/Association crest
NicknamesCanucks
Maple Leafs
UnionRugby Canada
Head coachKévin Rouet
CaptainSophie de Goede
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current2 (as of 28 October 2024)
Highest2 (2024)
First international
  3–22 United States 
(Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; 14 November 1987)
Biggest win
  98–0 Hong Kong 
(Dublin, Ireland; 9 August 2017)
Biggest defeat
  3–88 New Zealand 
(Edmonton, Canada; 8 September 1996)
World Cup
Appearances9 (First in 1991)
Best resultRunners-up, 2014
Websiterugby.ca/en
Women's
World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 rankings as of 18 August 2025[1]
Rank Change* Team Points
1 Steady  England 97.76
2 Steady   90.13
3 Steady  New Zealand 88.74
4 Steady  France 85.72
5 Steady  Ireland 78.81
6 Steady  Australia 76.31
7 Steady  Italy 76.06
8 Steady  Scotland 75.33
9 Steady  Wales 72.18
10 Steady  United States 72.05
11 Steady  Japan 68.83
12 Steady  South Africa 68.04
13 Steady  Spain 63.31
14 Steady  Fiji 59.98
15 Steady  Samoa 59.72
16 Steady  Hong Kong 57.56
17 Steady  Netherlands 57.42
18 Steady  Russia 55.10
19 Steady  Kazakhstan 53.88
20 Steady  Kenya 50.68
*Change from the previous week

The Canada women's national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union competitions. They are overseen by Rugby Canada, the governing body of rugby union in Canada.

History

The Canadian women's program began to develop in the 1980s with the first match being played in 1987 in Victoria, British Columbia against another international rugby start-up, the United States.[2] It was the first women's international test match that was played outside of Europe.[3]

In 1991, Canada competed in the inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup in Wales. The team finished in fifth place after defeating Spain 19–4 in the Plate final. Canada has appeared in every World Cup since 1991.[2]

Canada were finalists at the 2014 Rugby World Cup. They were drawn in the same pool with eventual winners, England. They had a 13 all draw during the pool stage before meeting in the final, Canada lost 21–9 and were runners-up.[4][5][6][7]

In 2022, Canada finished fourth after losing to France in the third place final at the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup.[8][9][10]

Competitive record

World Cup

Main article: Canada at the Women's Rugby World Cup
World Cup record
Year Round Position P W D L F A
Wales 1991 Plate Winners 5th 5 3 1 1 80 37
Scotland 1994 Shield Finalists 6th 5 2 0 3 105 46
Netherlands 1998 3rd Place Play-off 4th 5 2 0 3 52 163
Spain 2002 3rd Place Play-off 4th 4 2 0 2 84 94
Canada 2006 3rd Place Play-off 4th 5 2 0 3 145 28
England 2010 5th place match 6th 5 2 0 3 146 66
France 2014 Finalists 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 3 1 1 113 62
Ireland 2017 5th place match 5th 5 4 0 1 213 60
New Zealand 2021 3rd Place Play-off 4th 6 4 0 2 143 104
England 2025 Qualified
Australia 2029 TBD
United States 2033
Total 9/9 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 45 24 2 19 1081 660
  Champion   Runner-up   Third place   Fourth place
* Tied placing † Best placing Home venue

Head-to-head record

Overall

See also: List of Canada women's national rugby union team matches

(Full internationals only; Last updated 9 August 2025)

Rugby: Canada internationals 1987-
Opponent First game Played Won Drawn Lost Percentage
 Australia 2014 7 7 0 0 100.00%
 England 1993 37 3 1 33 8.33%
 Fiji 2022 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 France 1996 18 9 0 9 50%
 Hong Kong 2017 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 Ireland 2002 5 4 0 1 80.00%
 Italy 1991 3 3 0 0 100.00%
 Japan 1994 2 2 0 0 100.00%
 Kazakhstan 1994 2 2 0 0 100.00%
 Netherlands 1998 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 New Zealand 1991 19 1 1 17 5.26%
 Samoa 2014 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 Scotland 1994 7 6 0 1 85.71%
 South Africa 2009 6 6 0 0 100.00%
 Sweden 2010 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 Soviet Union 1991 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 Spain 2006 3 3 0 0 100.00%
 United States 1987 48 29 0 19 60.42%
 Wales 1991 14 10 2 2 71.43%
Summary 1987 177 91 4 82 51.41%

Players

Current squad

On 24 July 2025, Kévin Rouet announced Canada's 32-player squad for the 2025 Rugby World Cup.[11]

1 On 15 August 2025, Pamphinette Buisa was ruled out of the World Cup after sustaining an injury in a warm-up match against Ireland. She was replaced by Julia Omokhuale.[12]

Note: The age and number of caps listed for each player is as of 22 August 2025, the first day of the tournament.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Gillian Boag Hooker (1995-02-19)19 February 1995 (aged 30) 32 Canada Capilano RFC
Taylor McKnight Hooker (2003-04-05)5 April 2003 (aged 22) 1 Canada University of Guelph / Aurora Barbarians
Emily Tuttosi Hooker (1995-09-21)21 September 1995 (aged 29) 34 England Exeter Chiefs / Canada Calgary Hornets
Olivia DeMerchant Prop (1991-02-16)16 February 1991 (aged 34) 60 Canada Halifax Tars RFC
McKinley Hunt Prop (1997-01-05)5 January 1997 (aged 28) 32 England Saracens / Canada Aurora Barbarians
Brittany Kassil Prop (1991-03-14)14 March 1991 (aged 34) 46 Canada Guelph Goats
DaLeaka Menin Prop (1995-06-16)16 June 1995 (aged 30) 63 England Exeter Chiefs / Canada Calgary Hornets
Maya Montiel Prop (1999-10-11)11 October 1999 (aged 25) 5 England Saracens
Mikiela Nelson Prop (1997-11-27)27 November 1997 (aged 27) 10 England Exeter Chiefs / Canada Capilano RFC
Tyson Beukeboom Second row (1991-03-10)10 March 1991 (aged 34) 77 Canada Cowichan Piggies / Aurora Barbarians
Caroline Crossley Second row (1998-04-19)19 April 1998 (aged 27) 7 Canada Castaway Wanderers
Courtney O'Donnell Second row (1999-04-25)25 April 1999 (aged 26) 46 Canada Red Deer Titans Rugby
Julia Omokhuale1 Second row (2001-07-09)9 July 2001 (aged 24) 7 England Saracens / Canada Calgary Irish
Rachel Smith Second row (2001-04-07)7 April 2001 (aged 24) 3 Canada University of British Columbia
Pamphinette Buisa1 Back row (1996-12-28)28 December 1996 (aged 28) 17 Canada Ottawa Irish
Sophie de Goede Back row (1999-06-30)30 June 1999 (aged 26) 35 England Saracens / Canada Castaway Wanderers
Fabiola Forteza Back row (1995-08-04)4 August 1995 (aged 30) 35 France Stade Bordelais Women
Karen Paquin Back row (1987-08-03)3 August 1987 (aged 38) 45 Canada Club de rugby de Quebec
Laetitia Royer Back row (1991-02-09)9 February 1991 (aged 34) 18 England Saracens / Canada Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC
Gabby Senft Back row (1997-06-13)13 June 1997 (aged 28) 32 England Saracens / Canada Castaway Wanderers
Olivia Apps Scrum-half (1998-12-01)1 December 1998 (aged 26) 18 Canada Lindsay RFC
Justine Pelletier Scrum-half (1996-02-27)27 February 1996 (aged 29) 37 France Stade Bordelais Women
Claire Gallagher Fly-half (2000-04-20)20 April 2000 (aged 25) 18 England Trailfinders
Taylor Perry Fly-half (2000-07-23)23 July 2000 (aged 25) 15 England Exeter Chiefs / Canada Oakville Crusaders
Alex Tessier (c) Fly-half (1993-09-03)3 September 1993 (aged 31) 59 England Exeter Chiefs / Canada Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC
Alysha Corrigan Centre (1997-01-25)25 January 1997 (aged 28) 21 England Saracens
Shoshanah Seumanutafa Centre (1999-09-17)17 September 1999 (aged 25) 18 New Zealand Chiefs Manawa
Fancy Bermudez Wing (2002-05-27)27 May 2002 (aged 23) 18 England Saracens / Canada Westshore RFC
Paige Farries Wing (1994-08-12)12 August 1994 (aged 31) 40 England Saracens
Asia Hogan-Rochester Wing (1999-04-20)20 April 1999 (aged 26) 3 Canada Toronto Nomads / Westshore RFC
Florence Symonds Wing (2002-05-20)20 May 2002 (aged 23) 12 Canada University of British Columbia
Sarah-Maude Lachance Fullback (1998-12-07)7 December 1998 (aged 26) 10 France Stade Bordelais Women
Julia Schell Fullback (1997-07-13)13 July 1997 (aged 28) 26 England Trailfinders / Canada Castaway Wanderers

World Cup squads

Notable players

Award winners

The following Canada players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[15]

Honours

Runners-up (1): 2014
Runners-up (1): 2023
Champions (2): 2021, 2024
Runners-up (2): 2022, 2023
Champions (1): 2016
Champions (1): 2013
Runners-up (2): 2008, 2011

Attendance

The highest attended matches played in Canada.

Rank Attendance Opponent Date Venue Location Ref.
1 11,453  United States 1 August 2025 TD Place Stadium Ottawa [16]
2 10,092  New Zealand 10 July 2023 TD Place Stadium Ottawa [17]

References

  1. ^ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b Khan, Safa. "History of Women's Rugby in Ontario". Rugby Ontario. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  3. ^ Birch, John (16 August 2014). "An American Century: USA's 100th test". Scrum Queens. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  4. ^ "How did England win the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup?". IRB. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  5. ^ Butler, Michael (17 August 2014). "Women's Rugby World Cup final: England v Canada – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  6. ^ Riach, James (17 August 2014). "Emily Scarratt's boot hands England World Cup final win over Canada". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Women's Rugby World Cup: England beat Canada to win final". BBC Sport. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Blue wave hits Canada as France celebrates Bronze victory". Americas Rugby News. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Canadian women fall to France in bronze-medal match at Rugby World Cup". www.cbc.ca. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Five-try France blow away Canada to take bronze at Rugby World Cup 2021". www.rugbyworldcup.com. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  11. ^ "32-PLAYERS NAMED TO CANADA'S SQUAD FOR RUGBY WORLD CUP IN ENGLAND". Rugby Canada. 24 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Buisa ruled out of Canada squad for Women's RWC 2025". Rugby World Cup. 15 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Heather Moyse to be inducted into World Rugby Hall of Fame". CBC.ca. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d "Heather Moyse - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Canada Score 35 Unanswered to Down USA in Front of Record Crowd".
  17. ^ "The Soaring Popularity of Women's Rugby: A Look into Crowd Records %". 12 July 2023.
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