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

Nicknames	Canucks Maple Leafs
Union	Rugby Canada
Head coach	Kévin Rouet
Captain	Alex Tessier
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	2 (as of 2 October 2025)
Highest	2 (2024–2025)
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
Appearances	9 (First in 1991 )
Best result	Runners-up (2014, 2025)
Website	rugby.ca/en Rugby Canada

Women's
World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 20 rankings as of 15 September 2025 ^[1]

Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		England	097.76
2		Canada	090.13
3		New Zealand	088.76
4		France	086.42
5		Ireland	078.20
6		Scotland	077.39
7		Australia	075.46
8		United States	072.90
9		Italy	072.37
10		South Africa	071.62
11		Japan	069.72
12		Wales	066.13
13		Fiji	063.98
14		Spain	062.42
15		Samoa	059.72
16		Hong Kong	057.56
17		Netherlands	057.42
18		Russia	055.10
19		Kazakhstan	053.88
20		Kenya	050.68
*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	PF	PA
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	85	94
2006	3rd Place Play-off	4th	5	2	0	3	145	98
2010	5th place match	6th	5	3	0	2	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	Finalists		6	5	0	1	240	83
2029	Qualified as 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup semi-finalists
2033	TBD
Total	10/10	†	51	30	2	19	1,322	813
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; Correct as of 27 September 2025)

Rugby: Canada internationals 1987-

Opponent	First game	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Percentage
Australia	2014	8	8	0	0	100.00%
England	1993	38	3	1	34	7.89%
Fiji	2022	2	2	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	20	2	1	17	10%
Samoa	2014	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Scotland	1994	8	7	0	1	87.5%
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	15	11	2	2	73.33%
Summary	1987	183	96	4	83	52.46%

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

Notable players

• Heather Moyse is the first Canadian woman to be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2016. ^{[13] [14]} She has represented Canada in rugby, cycling and bobsleigh; She won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics in 2010 and 2014. ^[14] She has made 22 international appearances for Canada in 15s and has been to two Women's Rugby World Cups in 2006 and 2010. ^[14] She also helped Canada finish in second place at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia. ^[14]

Award winners

The following Canada players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001: ^{[15] [16] [17] [18]}

World Rugby 15s Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2014 Magali Harvey Magali Harvey Kelly Russell 2022 Sophie de Goede — 2024 Alex Tessier 2025 Sophie de Goede (2) Sophie de Goede

World Rugby 15s Dream Team of the Year Year No. Players 2021 7. Karen Paquin 2022 2. Emily Tuttosi 8. Sophie de Goede 2024 5. Laetitia Royer 7. Sophie de Goede (2) 12. Alex Tessier 2025 2. Emily Tuttosi (2) 4. Sophie de Goede (3) 9. Justine Pelletier

Honours

• Women's Rugby World Cup

Runners-up (2): 2014, 2025

• WXV 1

Runners-up (1): 2023

• Pacific Four Series

Champions (2): 2021, 2024

Runners-up (3): 2022, 2023, 2025

• Women's Super Series

Champions (1): 2016

• Women's Nations Cup

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	[19]
2	10,092	New Zealand	10 July 2023	TD Place Stadium	Ottawa	[20]

References

1. "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
2. Khan, Safa. "History of Women's Rugby in Ontario". Rugby Ontario. Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
3. Birch, John (16 August 2014). "An American Century: USA's 100th test". Scrum Queens. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. 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. "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. "Magali Harvey the Women's Player of the Year". www.world.rugby. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
17. "De Goede named World Rugby Player of the Year". www.rugbyworldcup.com. 27 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
18. "Women's Rugby World Cup stars shine in World Rugby Awards 2025". www.world.rugby. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
19. "Canada Score 35 Unanswered to Down USA in Front of Record Crowd". August 2025.
20. "The Soaring Popularity of Women's Rugby: A Look into Crowd Records %". 12 July 2023.

External links

• Rugby Canada Official website
• Canadian rugby union news from Planet Rugby