Canada beat England 24-21 as late try ends Red Roses’ 41-match unbeaten run

Canada beat England 24-21 to end the Red Roses’ 41-match unbeaten run, with Shoshanah Seumanutafa’s late try settling a dramatic WXV Global Series encounter in Toronto. The replacement crossed in the 77th minute at BMO Field to deliver England’s first defeat since the 2022 World Cup final against New Zealand.

England had led 14-5 at half-time and held a nine-point advantage after Sarah Bern’s second-half try. But Canada scored twice without reply to secure their first victory over the Red Roses since 2016.

A crowd of 18,621 witnessed the result, setting a record for a standalone women’s rugby match in North America.

How Canada beat England in Toronto

Savannah Bauder opened the scoring for Canada after Zoe Harrison had been sent to the sin-bin. England also had a Claudia Moloney-MacDonald try ruled out for a knock-on in the grounding, but their forwards helped turn the match before the interval.

With Canada’s Laetitia Royer serving a yellow card, Maddie Feaunati and Harrison crossed in quick succession. Harrison converted both tries to send England into the break 14-5 ahead.

Canada responded through Alysha Corrigan early in the second half, only for Bern to restore England’s nine-point cushion. The visitors appeared well placed to protect their unbeaten record, but DaLeaka Menin’s converted try reduced the deficit to 21-19 just after the hour.

Seumanutafa then supplied the decisive moment, finishing down the left after Canada attacked following a disrupted England clearance. The hosts held on to complete a four-try victory.

A landmark win after September’s draw

Canada had already demonstrated how closely they could challenge England in September’s 26-26 draw at Sandy Park. This time, Kevin Rouet’s side went one step further against the team that beat them in the 2025 World Cup final.

Menin was named player of the match, while Seumanutafa’s contribution from the bench ensured Canada’s first home appearance since August 2025 ended with a memorable victory.

For England, it was the first defeat of John Mitchell’s tenure and the end of an unbeaten sequence stretching back almost four years.

Mitchell looks for England response

Mitchell acknowledged the disappointment but stressed that England had produced encouraging passages of play.

“We’re not driven by outcome,” he said, in comments reported by Sky Sports.

“We’re disappointed by the result but there was some very good things in our performance tonight.”

Captain Meg Jones spoke of England’s pride in their unbeaten run, while Canada scrum-half Justine Pelletier said the occasion’s significance extended beyond the result, highlighting the crowd and the opportunity to play at home.