Canada head coach Kevin Rouet believes his players are ready to deliver on the biggest stage as they attempt to turn the tables on England in Saturday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final.
The Maple Leafs lost 26-19 to the Red Roses in the semifinal of the last World Cup and were arguably the better team last October during a 21-12 defeat in the WXV1 tournament in Vancouver.
Frenchman Rouet accepts his team are underdogs ahead of the sold-out Twickenham showdown as hosts England bid to extend their remarkable 32-Test winning run and remain top of the world rankings.
Yet Canada, who sit second in the global standings, are unbeaten in 2025 and made a statement of intent to reach the final by outclassing defending champions New Zealand in an impressive 34-19 victory.
“I think we were very close in the last World Cup,” Rouet said, who was appointed just over six months before that tournament.
“We lost in the semifinals against England and I would say all of the metrics were in our favour but not the score, so it’s kind of hard sometimes.
“But we were not ready on those high pressure games to deliver and I think that’s a big difference.
“We changed the way we play, for sure, and I think I saw a year and a half ago that we were going in the right direction and we do a lot of good stuff.
“Recently, we only lose against them [England]. We had a good game in Canada [in 2024] but we didn’t deliver on details.
“Why I believe this team is different is we had more time together; last time we played them, it’s a short preparation. That’s the key of success for us, just more time together.”
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Canada are semi-professional and had to crowdfund nearly a third of the budget for their World Cup campaign.
They have so far looked a class above their opponents, topping Pool B ahead of Scotland, Fiji and Wales before dispatching Australia and the Black Ferns in the knockout stages.
England, who beat Canada to lift the World Cup in 2014 but have lost five of the last six finals to New Zealand, are yet to hit top form, despite progressing in relatively straightforward fashion.
“Every team has strengths and weaknesses and we talk about it,” Rouet said.
“We focus on ourselves but also show a couple of weaknesses that England have and hopefully during the game we’re going to be able to put the pressure on that and force them to potentially go to their plan B or whatever they need to do to win this game.
“We want to make sure they are uncomfortable arriving to the game, for sure, and that’s how we want to win.”
A partisan capacity crowd of approximately 82,000 awaits Canada in south-west London. The existing record attendance for a women’s 15s fixture is 58,498.
“We were coming here to win the World Cup so we also have the pressure because we want to win this game,” Rouet said.
“But we love to have the pressure. Most of the stadium will be against us and it makes us smile already. We want the energy of the stadium.”
Emulating England’s decision earlier in the day to name an unchanged starting XV and bench, Rouet has kept faith with the same 23 that dispatched the Black Ferns.
It means that Canada will have completed each round of the knockout phase of the World Cup with the same 23 led by inside centre Alex Tessier. World player of the year nominee Sophie de Goede is present in the second row.
“We decided to be consistent after a performance we were really happy with against New Zealand,” Rouet said.
Canada XV to face England:
McKinley Hunt, Emily Tuttosi, DaLeaka Menin, Sophie de Goede, Courtney O’Donnell, Caroline Crossley, Karen Paquin, Fabiola Forteza, Justine Pelletier, Taylor Perry, Asia Hogan-Rochester, Alexandra Tessier, Florence Symonds, Alysha Corrigan, Julia Schell.
Replacements: Gillian Boag, Brittany Kassil, Olivia DeMerchant, Tyson Beukeboom, Laetitia Royer, Gabrielle Senft, Olivia Apps, Shoshanah Seumanutafa.
