![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792208411_881_indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cSo I think, more than anything, I feel proud of the way that we found a way to win that game. It wasn\u2019t easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Semanutafa raced down the wing and dived over the line to send the crowd of 18,621 spectators into a tizzy. It was a new stand-alone attendance record for a women\u2019s rugby match in North America. <\/p>\n
The previous mark of 11,453 was set on Aug. 1, 2025 when Canada beat the United States 42-10 in a World Cup warm-up match in Ottawa.<\/p>\n
Savannah Bauder, Alysha Corrigan and Daleaka Menin had the other tries for the Canadians, who missed two converts. Maddie Feaunati, Zoe Harrison and Sarah Bern scored tries for England. <\/p>\n
\u201cI told them as soon as you do it once, you want to do it twice,\u201d said Canadian head coach Kevin Rouet. \u201cThat\u2019s something we have to to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The third-ranked Canadian side ended England\u2019s 39-game winning streak on Sept. 19 when the teams played to a 26-26 draw in Exeter. It was part of a 1-1-1 showing for Canada over three WXV Global Series matches in Europe.<\/p>\n
England, which beat Canada 33-13 in the World Cup final last year, hadn\u2019t lost since dropping a 34-31 decision to New Zealand in the 2022 World Cup final.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes the flipped coin doesn\u2019t go on the side you want it to go,\u201d said England captain Meg Jones. \u201cIt\u2019s just the nature of the beast, and we go again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asia Hogan-Rochester and de Goede \u2014 the 2025 World Rugby women\u2019s player of the year \u2014 returned to the starting 15 after missing Canada\u2019s 21-5 loss to France last month. <\/p>\n
Corrigan got a start for the first time since the World Cup while Taylor Perry and vice-captain Alex Tessier swapped positions. Perry moved to inside centre and Tessier played fly-half for the first time this year before leaving early due to injury.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s Claudia Moloney-MacDonald scored a try in the sixth minute but officials ruled it was a knock-on. <\/p>\n
Canada controlled play for the next 10 minutes but had difficulty getting over the line. The host side finally found space out wide and Bauder scored to make it 5-0. De Goede\u2019s convert attempt was wide. <\/p>\n
England responded but a few turnovers deep in the zone prevented a score. <\/p>\n
The breakthrough came in the 32nd minute when Canada\u2019s Laetitia Royer was off after a yellow card. Feaunati picked up the ball by the side of the scrum and rumbled over the line for the try. <\/p>\n
Harrison extended England\u2019s lead in the 37th minute. After the halftime break, Corrigan put a charge into the crowd with a solo try that pulled Canada within two points. <\/p>\n
England responded on its next possession with a try from Bern. Menin answered for Canada by powering over the line in the 63rd minute.<\/p>\n
The teams will continue what organizers are calling the Rugby Rematch Tour on Oct. 23 at Ottawa.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s how you respond now when you\u2019ve had a loss,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the biggest test of character.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a busy few days off the field for the Canadian team leading up to the game. Rouet had his contract extended through 2030 and second-row forward Tyson Beukeboom announced her retirement.<\/p>\n
It was the Canadian team\u2019s first-ever appearance at BMO Field, the home of Major League Soccer\u2019s Toronto FC and the Canadian Football League\u2019s Toronto Argonauts.<\/p>\n
Beukeboom earned 84 caps for Canada over a 13-year international career. She\u2019s the country\u2019s most-capped rugby player across both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s games.<\/p>\n
Teams are building over the four-year cycle ahead of the 2029 World Cup in Australia. England and Canada have already qualified.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2026. <\/p>\n
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cSo I think, more than anything, I feel proud of the way that we found a way to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":935955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[879,49,48,2467,2461,2468,2460,2462,2463,44,2464,2465,2466,82],"class_list":["post-935954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-breaking-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-central-vancouver-island","tag-nanaimo","tag-nanaimo-breaking-news","tag-nanaimo-news","tag-nanaimo-news-now","tag-nanaimonewsnow","tag-news","tag-oceanside","tag-parksville","tag-qualicum","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=935954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/935955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=935954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=935954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}