Canada end England's 41-match unbeaten run with late try at BMO Field

Canada ended England’s 41-match unbeaten run with a 24-21 victory at Toronto’s BMO Field on Saturday, as Shoshanah Seumanutafa dived over in the corner with three minutes remaining to send a record crowd into raptures.

The result came before 18,621 supporters — a new attendance record for a standalone women’s rugby fixture in North America and the largest crowd for a Canadian Test match in over a decade. It was the second meeting between the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 finalists in the space of a month, and this time Canada made their home advantage count.

England started brightly but were reduced to 14 players inside the opening 10 minutes when Zoe Harrison was sent to the sin-bin for repeated infringements. Canada capitalised immediately, with Savannah Bauder dotting down. The Red Roses regrouped when Laetitia Royer received a yellow card of her own, allowing Maddie Feaunati and Harrison to score — both converted by Harrison — to give England a half-time lead.

The second half told a different story. Alysha Corrigan’s try early in the half signalled Canada’s intent under head coach Kévin Rouet, though England responded when Sarah Bern crossed the line three minutes later. As the clock wound down, the noise inside BMO Field grew to a level that visibly shook the television cameras.

DaLeaka Menin powered over in the 63rd minute to bring Canada within two points after Sophie de Goede’s conversion. De Goede then proved the architect of the winner, drawing in defenders before releasing Gabrielle Senft, who found Seumanutafa — introduced early after Alexandra Tessier failed a head injury assessment — out wide to finish in the corner.

The result had been building. Across their three previous WXV Global Series matches, England had shown signs of vulnerability, and Canada’s defensive resilience, their ability to win turnovers at critical moments and their clinical finishing in the second half ultimately proved the difference. Going unbeaten for 41 consecutive matches remains a remarkable achievement for the Red Roses, but in Toronto, that run finally came to an end.