Lizzie \u201cGibby\u201d Gibson, 25, will be playing her first match with the team on Canadian soil.<\/p>\n
Gibson said the loss against England has left hunger for Canada to prove it’s capable of being the world’s top-ranked team. Canada has never beaten England but recently tied them in the WXV Global Series in September, hosted in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that these games mean so much to these players and so much to the new players too,\u201d Gibson told CBC Sports. \u201cThey have that little bit of fire from that World Cup loss. I just want to add to that and be like, \u2018I’m right here. I’m right with you.\u2019 And I’m gonna do everything that I possibly can. Like putting my body on the line for you guys to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
WATCH | Canadian women’s rugby has 2 cracks at top-ranked England:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792085770_267_default.jpg\")
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Canada women’s rugby have two chances to take down England on home soil<\/p>\n
Canada’s rugby women are ready to rematch. They have two chances on home soil to take down arch rival England coming up Oct. 16 & Oct. 23. Players Taylor Perry & Lizzie Gibson joined us in studio to talk team, tactics and takedowns.<\/p>\n
Gibson, who hails from Caledon, Ont., and plays back row and was named to the senior women\u2019s team in 2026.<\/p>\n
She is no stranger to winning and has been a stalwart on the Queen\u2019s University Gaels team. She has been honoured multiple times by Queen\u2019s University as Athlete of the Year, and was named the U Sports Player of the Year in 2022. Gibson holds the record for all-time leading scorer in U Sports with 571 career points.<\/p>\n
U Sports plays a pivotal role in the development of the top rugby players in the world. Canada does not have a professional rugby union, leaving many of the best players to move to Europe.<\/p>\n
Taylor Perry, 26, of Oakville also played at Queen\u2019s University. Perry plays fly-half with the 15s and the 7s and has represented Canada at the biggest competitions in the world.<\/p>\n
Perry explained that U Sports has a unique and direct pipeline to the national program \u2014 unlike any other sport where the best athletes in the country go south to the United States to compete in the NCAA.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
She said that after the Gaels\u2019 2021 U Sports national championship win, head coach Dan Valley suggested they should play a top team in the NCAA; Harvard University and Dartmouth College are two of the top teams in DI and boast Canadian talent<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like they talk up the NCAA so much like it’s such a high level,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it’s like if we just could have one match with our top team versus your top team, that would not be a conversation anymore. It would be very, very good for Canadian teams to get more players from the States up here, and also keep our Canadians here.\u201d<\/p>\n Perry is grateful she didn\u2019t have to leave her home province to play during university but is currently playing professionally in England with the Exeter Chiefs. These two matches on home soil are incredibly important for the team, which has overcome tremendous adversity, and remained successful despite challenges \u2014 including the resignation of the sevens program head coach in 2021 that included allegations of maltreatment.<\/p>\n Many of the players play on both the sevens and 15-player teams. The team also faces funding challenges <\/a>and worked hard to build up support ahead of the World Cup, including a stint on Dragon\u2019s Den. Spoiler: the \u201cDragons\u201d decided not to fund them.<\/p>\n WATCH | How much are Canadian women’s rugby players paid?:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n England\u2019s budget for its senior women\u2019s program is around $20 million, whereas Canada\u2019s is $3 million. The Red Roses possess an active unbeaten run of 41 matches \u2014 all wins with the exception of the draw against Canada \u2014 and an impressive 70-1-1 record dating back to 2019.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s profile has grown immensely in the last few years after a sevens silver-medal result at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the subsequent World Cup. But the team isn\u2019t satisfied with second.<\/p>\n ‘Driven to be the best in the world’<\/p>\n Nathan Bombrys is the CEO of Rugby Canada. He told me that previous iterations of the senior team always had talent and drive, but what makes this one different is their belief in possibility.<\/p>\n \u201cThis team is driven to be the best in the world,\u201d he said in a phone call. \u201cThat\u2019s their measurement.\u201d<\/p>\n The team was featured in a four-part documentary series on Crave TV directed by Vancouver-based filmmaker Kat Jayme called ALL HEART: A RUGBY STORY.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The series pulls back the curtain on one of the country\u2019s most likeable teams, and shows its vulnerability and their personalities in a sincere way.<\/p>\n It highlights their humour and grit but also how they manage injuries, stress, mental health battles and grieve losses in pursuit of top spot in the world. Bombrys says we see how tough the World Cup heartbreak is on them but their passion and focus remains impressive. He says now there is the recognition that \u201cCanada comes to play.\u201d<\/p>\n The gap is in wider support from the country. We know that people love women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n