Friday, August 1, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) — Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team put together a dominant second-half performance to defeat the United States 42–10 in front of a record-setting crowd at TD Place Stadium.
The victory — Canada’s 11th straight against their longtime rivals — came in their final home appearance before departing for the United Kingdom and was played in front of 11,453 fans, setting a new record for a standalone women’s rugby match in North America.
After trailing early and facing a 10–7 deficit late in the first half, Canada roared back with 35 unanswered points in front of the vocal Ottawa crowd.
“We stayed composed and stuck to our plan,” said captain Alex Tessier post-match. “We came out strong in the second half and finished the job well.”
USA struck first in the 2nd minute, marching down the field on the opening possession and scoring through No. 8 Freda Tafuna, with the conversion making it 7–0. Canada absorbed the early pressure and began to build momentum, even while playing down a player after Sophie de Goede was shown yellow.
Their breakthrough came in the 27th minute via a penalty try, awarded after a powerful Canadian maul was illegally stopped by USA’s Hallie Taufo’ou, who was also sent to the sin bin. Though USA briefly regained the lead through a penalty goal, Canada struck again just before the break: McKinley Hunt powered over from close range, with de Goede adding the extras to send the hosts into halftime up 14–10.
Just two minutes into the second half, Gabrielle Senft finished off a clinical lineout drive. Then came several phases of pressure that ended with Olivia DeMerchant crashing over in the 63rd minute — just moments after checking into the match to mark her milestone 60th appearance for the national side.
Less than two minutes later, flanker Karen Paquin ignited the crowd with a 30-metre burst that led to Florence Symonds finishing a well-worked try. Canada’s dominance in the forwards was capped off by Mikiela Nelson in the 74th minute, who dotted down after a long-distance rolling maul.
Conversions were shared between Sophie de Goede — perfect on four attempts — and Julia Schell, who added the final conversion to seal the 42–10 result.
“We started slower than we wanted to, but it was a good wakeup call,” said DaLeaka Menin, named NFP Player of the Match. “You don’t always get the first try — and I think we showed we can come back from that.”
“We decided to just battle it out, and it really showed — especially closer to the end of the first half — that we were dominant. From there, we took it away.”
BY THE NUMBERS
- Canada scored six tries from six different scorers (including the penalty try)
- 35 unanswered points were scored after trailing 10–7 late in the first half
- Canada led the linebreak count 11–4
- A record 11,453 fans were in attendance — the largest crowd ever for a standalone women’s rugby match in North America
CANADA SCORING SUMMARY
Tries: Penalty Try (27’), McKinley Hunt (40’), Gabrielle Senft (43’), Olivia DeMerchant (63’), Florence Symonds (65’), Mikiela Nelson (74’)
Conversions: Sophie de Goede 4 (40’, 44’, 64’, 66’), Julia Schell (75’)
UP NEXT FOR CANADA’S WOMEN’S RUGBY TEAM
Canada’s final warm up match before the Rugby World Cup will be against Ireland on Saturday August 9 at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kick-off is scheduled for 12:00pm local time (4:00am PT / 7:00am) and will be available on TSN and TSN+.
At the Rugby World Cup in England, Canada will compete in Pool B alongside Scotland, Wales and Fiji. Their first match will be against Fiji at the York Community Stadium in York on Saturday, August 23 at 9:30am PT / 12:30pm ET (5:30pm local time). Click here for the full Pool B schedule.
CANADA’S WOMEN’S RUGBY TEAM MATCH DAY ROSTER VS USA
1. McKinley Hunt (King City, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Saracens
2. Gillian Boag (Calgary, AB) – Capilano RFC
3. DaLeaka Menin (Vulcan, AB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs
4. Sophie de Goede (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens
5. Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, ON) – Cowichan Piggies / Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders
6. Karen Paquin (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Quebec
7. Fabiola Forteza (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais
8. Gabrielle Senft (Regina, SK) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens
9. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC
10. Claire Gallagher (Caledon, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Leicester Tigers
11. Paige Farries (Red Deer, AB) – Saracens
12. Alexandra Tessier (Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC) – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC / Exeter Chiefs
13. Florence Symonds (Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia
14. Fancy Bermudez (Edmonton, AB) – Nor’Westers Athletic Association / Westshore RFC / Saracens
15. Julia Schell (Uxbridge, ON) – Guelph Goats / Castaway Wanderers / Ealing Trailfinders
FINISHERS
16. Taylor McKnight (Stouffville, ON) – University of Guelph / Aurora Barbarians
17. Mikiela Nelson (North Vancouver, BC) – Capilano RFC / Exeter Chiefs
18. Olivia DeMerchant (Mapledale, NB) – Halifax Tars RFC
19. Courtney O’Donnell (Rimbey, AB) – Red Deer Titans Rugby
20. Pamphinette Buisa (Gatineau, QC) – Ottawa Irish
21. Justine Pelletier (Rivière-du-Loup, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais
22. Shoshanah Seumanutafa (White Rock, BC) – Counties Manukau
23. Caroline Crossley (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers
MISSION: WIN RUGBY WORLD CUP
In March 2025, Rugby Canada officially launched the Mission: Win Rugby World Cup (MWRWC) 2025 fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $1,000,000. Despite rising to the second world ranking, the Canadian women’s rugby team operates on a fractional budget compared to its closest competitors. This $1 million gap was identified to best equip the team with extra resources to help them make history.
The mission is now within reach: over 88% of the fundraising goal has been pledged through generous individual donations and crowdfunding. Rugby Canada extends its deep appreciation to all MWRWC supporters in embarking on a final push of this campaign for the team’s Rugby World Cup journey. For more information or to donate, visit rugby.ca/donate.
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About Rugby Canada
Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in Canada. They administer and operate Men’s and Women’s Senior and Junior National programs in both rugby 15s and 7s, as well as govern the Club and community game for more than 40,000 registered participants from coast to coast in conjunction with ten Provincial Union members.
Rugby Canada is headquartered at the Al Charron National Training Centre in Langford, BC, with staff also working from Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa. Rugby Canada business operations, programs and events are delivered nationwide, including the internationally recognized HSBC Vancouver Sevens annual tournaments.
Media Contacts:
Braedan Willis
Manager, Communications
bwillis@rugby.ca