Canada are in their first World Cup final since 2014, where they lost 21-9 to England in Paris.
Since the last World Cup in 2022, which ended with a narrow semi-final loss to England, Canada have twice finished in the top three of the WXV1 tournament, won the Pacific Four Series in 2024 – narrowly missing out on defending their title on points difference – and the sevens side took silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Maple Leafs are competing for airtime against sports such as ice hockey, basketball and football, but are making a name for themselves this World Cup, with Canadian pop star Shania Twain among those wishing the side good luck on social media before their semi-final.
Despite their riches on the pitch, funding has still been a difficult issue for the Maple Leafs who unlike England are not a fully professional side.
To go with the financial support they get from Rugby Canada and World Rugby, the team also raised £530,000 in a fundraising drive titled Mission: Win Rugby World Cup.
“That crowdfunding comes too late to be really functionally productive to any World Cup build-up,” said McKenzie, who had to pay to play for Canada when she made her debut in 2004.
“So all of the work that’s gone into this has already been done. It’s been planned for in the preceding years.
“Whilst they don’t have money, their IQ on rugby is off the scale right now.
“[Head coach Rouet] has got such a good demeanour with the group. And it is a complex programme. There’s different languages to negotiate. There’s different countries, different time zones.
“The country is so big it is completely economically unfeasible to have a big central camp more than once.”
Several of Canada’s squad still live in North America and have day jobs around their rugby. Prop Olivia DeMerchant, for instance, is a firefighter for the Halifax fire department.
But just over half the squad, including world player of the year nominee Sophie de Goede, captain Alex Tessier and fly-half Taylor Perry, have contracts with English clubs in the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) league.
Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Bill Sweeney believes it is a good thing that the strength of PWR is helping develop Canada’s players, even if it might come back to haunt England on Saturday.
“They’re getting the exposure to top-class women’s rugby,” he said. “We all want to see the women’s game improve and levels of competitiveness increase.
“If that makes Canada a stronger team, if other international players come and play there, and that improves their union performance, that’s great for the game.”
As for inspiring the next generation back home, McKenzie is confident the final “will have an impact”, and that Canada will have a huge chance to become world champions for the first time.
“Canada are here to do a job,” she said. “It’s going to be good, isn’t it?”
