Canada’s dream run at the Women’s Rugby World Cup came to heartbreaking end on Saturday with a 33-13 loss to England in front of 81,885 fans at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, the largest crowd ever to watch a women’s game.
The Canadians got off to a fast start, driving down field in the opening minutes. They won an early try when Asia Hogan-Rochester burst down the right side and scored. But England came back with three tries, and a trio of conversions to pull ahead 21-8 at the half.
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As the game wore on, Canada pressed but couldn’t get the ball over the line against the power of England, and its smothering defence. Hogan-Rochester got another try in the second half, but it wasn’t enough, and England pulled away to win their third World Cup title.
“We know we didn’t play our best game,” head coach Kevin Rouet said after the game. “I told them at the end, I’m very proud of what they did, the sacrifice they made for three years to just get there. It was just missing 80 minutes of good rugby for us to be world champions.”
The Canadian team has been something of the darlings of the tournament – the crowd-funded overachievers who had to rely on $1-million in donations just to get to the World Cup. The Canadians went undefeated in the early rounds and got to the final with an upset win over defending champions New Zealand in the semi-final.
But going up against a fully professional team like England, which is the best funded rugby program in the world, was always going to be a challenge. Most of the Canadians play in semi-pro leagues in Britain and France, and they have to hold part-time jobs to make ends meet.
The England women also play in those leagues, but they earn as much as £50,000 a year, or $93,390, as members of the national team. Canadian players are lucky to make around $12,000 from the national program.
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None of the Canadian players were using funding as an excuse on Saturday, but some spoke about how far the team could go at the next World Cup in 2029 with even a little more financial backing. The national team has already won bronze and silver at the Olympics in rugby sevens – a shorter version of the game played with seven instead of 15 players – and the rugby union team came into this tournament ranked second in the world.
“I know over the next four years, if we can increase our investment in the game and ride this momentum back home, that will only increase our odds of winning in 2029,” said Canadian forward Sophie de Goede, 26, who was named World Rugby Player of the Year on Saturday.
De Goede said she was proud of the award given that she only recently came back from knee surgery which put her out for a year. Her honour and “this whole World Cup run has created momentum back home for rugby in Canada,” she said. “We’ve really seen it kind of explode, and we felt that from here. And I just want to be able to continue that momentum.”
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Prime Minister Mark Carney reacts in the stands with his wife Diana Fox Carney before the match.Andrew Boyers/Reuters
Team captain Alex Tessier, 32, said the players were as prepared as possible for Saturday’s game. “England definitely have more money than us,” she said. “It’s definitely not sustainable in Canada, for sure. We’re still slowly but surely getting there in terms of funding, but tonight they were just better on the field.”
Canada won high praise from England superstar Ellie Kildunne. “I just hope that everyone in Canada, the people that fund the Canadian rugby as well, see the opportunity with this team. They’re very, very special,” she said after the game.
The five-week tournament has been a showcase for women’s rugby, and it has smashed records for attendance, television ratings, and hype. Prime Minister Mark Carney was in the stands on Saturday and celebrities from singer Shania Twain to actor Russell Crowe have given shout outs to the Canadian team on social media.
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Alysha Corrigan, Tyson Beukeboom and Laetitia Royer react after the loss.Andrew Boyers/Reuters
The women’s game has been growing steadily in several countries including Canada, especially among teenage girls who have been drawn to the sport’s diversity. The number of players in Canada has grown by 11 per cent last year and 10 per cent this year, according to Rugby Canada, due mainly to the greater involvement of women. In England, the Rugby Football Union is in the midst of a four-year plan to more than double female participation to 100,000 players by 2027.
“I think for girls, a contact team sport is so empowering,” said de Goede. “It allows us to be assertive. It allows us to feel dominance. It allows us to step into our physical presence and hold our own.”
Canadian fly-half Taylor Perry, 25, has been playing rugby since she was 10 years old when family friends urged her to give it a try. She played in high school and university and she won silver medal at the Olympics last year. “It’s life changing,” she said of her involvement in the sport. “You go in there; you get a whole amazing group of friends.” Everyone in the rugby world “is free to express themselves, be unique, be who they want to be.”
“Whether you’re the body type of the position that you’re supposed to be, or not, you can still do it,” she added. “And you can redefine it if you want to. That’s what we’re doing as Canadians in rugby, we’re redefining rugby.”
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Team England liftd the World Cup trophy after winning the match.David Rogers/Getty Images
