Canada women's national rugby union team

The Canada women's national rugby union team (French: équipe du Canada féminine de rugby à XV) represents Canada in international rugby union competitions. They are overseen by Rugby Canada, the governing body of rugby union in Canada.

Canada
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Canucks
Maple Leafs
UnionRugby Canada
Head coachKévin Rouet
CaptainSophie de Goede
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current4 (as of 9 January 2023)
First international
 Canada 3–22 United States 
(Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; 14 November 1987)
Biggest win
 Canada 98–0 Hong Kong 
(Dublin, Ireland; 9 August 2017)
Biggest defeat
 Canada 3–88 New Zealand 
(Edmonton, Canada; 8 September 1996)
World Cup
Appearances9 (First in 1991)
Best resultRunners-up, 2014
Websiterugby.ca/en
Top 20 rankings as of 29 April 2024[1]
Rank Change* Team Points
1 Steady  England 096.90
2 Steady  New Zealand 090.56
3 Steady  France 087.27
4 Steady  Canada 086.27
5 Steady  Australia 081.61
6 Steady  Scotland 075.99
7 Increase1  Wales 074.28
8 Decrease1  Italy 074.26
9 Increase1  Ireland 073.53
10 Decrease1  United States 072.57
11 Steady  Japan 069.38
12 Steady  South Africa 065.17
13 Steady  Spain 065.15
14 Steady  Russia 061.10
15 Steady  Samoa 059.57
16 Steady  Netherlands 058.98
17 Steady  Fiji 058.65
18 Steady  Hong Kong 058.31
19 Steady  Kazakhstan 055.97
20 Steady  Sweden 052.72
*Change from the previous week

History edit

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 edit

World Cup edit

World Cup record
Year Round Position P W D L F A
  1991 Plate Winners 5th 5 3 1 1 80 37
  1994 Shield Finalists 6th 5 2 0 3 105 46
  1998 3rd Place Play-off 4th 5 2 0 3 52 163
  2002 3rd Place Play-off 4th 4 2 0 2 84 94
  2006 3rd Place Play-off 4th 5 2 0 3 145 28
  2010 5th place match 6th 5 2 0 3 146 66
  2014 Finalists   5 3 1 1 113 62
  2017 5th place match 5th 5 4 0 1 213 60
  2021 3rd Place Play-off 4th 6 4 0 2 143 104
  2025 Qualified
  2029 TBD
  2033
Total 9/9   45 24 2 19 1081 660
  Champion   Runner-up   Third place   Fourth place
* Tied placing Best placing Home venue

Head-to-head record edit

Overall edit

(Full internationals only; Last updated 29 April 2024)

Rugby: Canada internationals 1987-
Opponent First game Played Won Drawn Lost Percentage
  Australia 2014 5 5 0 0 100.00%
  England 1993 36 3 1 32 8.33%
  Fiji 2022 1 1 0 0 100.00%
  France 1996 17 8 0 9 47.06%
  Hong Kong 2017 1 1 0 0 100.00%
  Ireland 2002 3 2 0 1 66.67%
  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 17 0 0 17 0.00%
  Samoa 2014 1 1 0 0 100.00%
  Scotland 1994 7 6 0 1 85.71%
  South Africa 2009 4 4 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 46 27 0 19 56.52%
  Wales 1991 14 10 2 2 71.43%
Summary 1987 165 81 3 81 49.09%

Players edit

Current squad edit

Kevin Rouet named Canada's 30-player squad to the Pacific Four Series on 12 April.[11] On 26 April, Cassandra Tuffnail was replaced by Mya Brubacher due to a pre-camp injury.[12][13]

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Gillian Boag Hooker (1995-02-19)19 February 1995 (aged 29) 23   Capilano RFC
Mya Brubacher Hooker   Kingston Panthers /   Queen's University
Sara Cline Hooker (1997-05-21)21 May 1997 (aged 26) 2   Western Force
Emily Tuttosi Hooker (1995-09-21)21 September 1995 (aged 28) 19   Exeter Chiefs
Olivia DeMerchant Prop (1991-02-16)16 February 1991 (aged 33) 57   Halifax Tars RFC
Alexandria Ellis Prop (1995-08-01)1 August 1995 (aged 28) 23   Stade Français
Brittany Kassil Prop (1991-03-14)14 March 1991 (aged 33) 38   Guelph RFC
DaLeaka Menin Prop (1995-06-16)16 June 1995 (aged 28) 45   Exeter Chiefs
Tyson Beukeboom Lock (1991-03-10)10 March 1991 (aged 33) 65   Ealing Trailfinders
McKinley Hunt Lock (1997-01-05)5 January 1997 (aged 27) 14   Saracens
Pamphinette Buisa Back row (1996-12-28)28 December 1996 (aged 27) 9   Ottawa Irish
Sophie de Goede (c) Back row (1999-06-30)30 June 1999 (aged 24) 24   Saracens
Fabiola Forteza Back row (1995-08-04)4 August 1995 (aged 28) 20   Stade Bordelais
Courtney Holtkamp Back row (1999-04-25)25 April 1999 (aged 25) 28   Red Deer Titans Rugby
Julia Omokhuale Back row 2002 (aged 22)   Leicester Tigers
Laetitia Royer Back row (1991-02-09)9 February 1991 (aged 33)   ASM Romagnat
Gabrielle Senft Back row (1997-06-13)13 June 1997 (aged 26) 18   Stade Bordelais
Sara Svoboda Back row (1995-02-03)3 February 1995 (aged 29) 21   Loughborough Lightning
Olivia Apps Scrum-half (1998-12-01)1 December 1998 (aged 25) 1   Lindsay RFC
Justine Pelletier Scrum-half (2001-02-27)27 February 2001 (aged 23) 18   Stade Bordelais
Claire Gallagher Fly-half 2001 (aged 23) 4   Leicester Tigers
Sarah-Maude Lachance Fly-half (1998-12-07)7 December 1998 (aged 25) 5   Stade Bordelais
Julia Schell Fly-half (1996-07-13)13 July 1996 (aged 27) 9   Ealing Trailfinders
Alexandra Tessier Fly-half (1993-09-03)3 September 1993 (aged 30) 48   Exeter Chiefs
Fancy Bermudez Centre (2002-05-27)27 May 2002 (aged 21) 4   Westshore RFC
Madison Grant Centre (2001-03-12)12 March 2001 (aged 23) 14   Cornwall Claymores
Shoshanah Seumanutafa Centre   Chiefs Manawa
Paige Farries Wing (1994-08-12)12 August 1994 (aged 29) 27   Saracens
Sabrina Poulin Wing (1992-10-03)3 October 1992 (aged 31) 12   Town of Mount Royal RFC
Mahalia Robinson Fullback   Town of Mount Royal RFC

Previous squads edit

Notable players edit

Award winners edit

The following Canada players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[16]

References edit

  1. ^ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b Khan, Safa. "History of Women's Rugby in Ontario". Rugby Ontario. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  3. ^ Birch, John (2014-08-16). "An American Century: USA's 100th test". Scrum Queens. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  4. ^ "How did England win the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup?". IRB. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  5. ^ Butler, Michael (2014-08-17). "Women's Rugby World Cup final: England v Canada – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  6. ^ Riach, James (2014-08-17). "Emily Scarratt's boot hands England World Cup final win over Canada". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  7. ^ "Women's Rugby World Cup: England beat Canada to win final". BBC Sport. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  8. ^ "Blue wave hits Canada as France celebrates Bronze victory". Americas Rugby News. 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  9. ^ "Canadian women fall to France in bronze-medal match at Rugby World Cup". www.cbc.ca. 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  10. ^ "Five-try France blow away Canada to take bronze at Rugby World Cup 2021". www.rugbyworldcup.com. 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  11. ^ "30 players named to Canada's Women's Rugby Team for 2024 Pacific Four Series". Rugby Canada. 2024-04-12. Retrieved 2024-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "Canadian women's rugby team opens Pacific Four Series against U.S. in California". TSN. 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Canada's roster named for opening match of Pacific Four Series against USA". Rugby Canada. 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "Heather Moyse to be inducted into World Rugby Hall of Fame". CBC.ca. 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  15. ^ a b c d "Heather Moyse - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  16. ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.

External links edit