Canada Stuns England to End Four Years Without a Loss

Canada Stuns England in the WXV Global Series opener in Toronto, winning 24-21 on a 77th-minute try that ended the Red Roses' 41-match unbeaten run, England Rugby reported. Friday night's match at BMO Field was played between the two finalists of the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup, and it was settled in front of a record crowd for a women's match in North America.

The visitors looked in control at the break, leading by nine after the opening forty minutes. Canada's Savannah Bauder crossed for the first try after sixteen minutes, but England answered through Maddie Feaunati, Zoe Harrison and Sarah Bern to take a 14-5 lead into half-time, according to match reports. The second half belonged to the hosts, who outscored England by twelve to win the final forty minutes and steal a result few saw coming.

A four-year streak, gone in Toronto

To understand why this result Stuns England supporters, start with the streak. The visitors had not lost since the 2021 World Cup final, winning every match they played across four years. That run included last month's meeting between these same teams, which finished in a 26-26 draw — a result that now reads like a warning England did not heed.

Canada's defence did the heavy lifting. RugbyPass noted the hosts' excellent defensive resolve in the closing stages, and it was the Canadian centre, Shoshanah Seumanutafa, who finally broke the deadlock, slicing through in the dying minutes to score the try that decided it. England had their chances: Claudia Moloney-MacDonald thought she had scored early, only for the try to be chalked off, and their fly-half spent ten minutes in the sin bin for a ruck infringement, England Rugby reported.

The gap is closing

This was not a fluke. Canada have been England's closest rivals for years, pushing them in the World Cup final and drawing with them last month. The difference on Friday was composure in the final quarter, when the hosts kept their shape while England's attack turned frantic. Star full-back Ellie Kildunne, the 2024 world player of the year, turned the ball over four times in the opposition 22, according to RugbyPass's player ratings — the kind of stat that tells you how much pressure Canada applied.

For the women's game in North America, the night was a milestone beyond the scoreboard. A record crowd watched the two best teams in the world trade blows for eighty minutes, the latest sign that women's rugby is outgrowing its old audiences. Canada's players fed off it; England's usually flawless machine did not.

Toronto is quietly becoming one of rugby's best big-game cities. The same stadium that hosts the city's soccer and football teams keeps drawing record women's crowds, and a Canada-England rivalry this tight is exactly what the sport needs to win over casual fans. If you are new to rugby, this is the rivalry to learn: two teams with genuine history, opposite styles, and now almost nothing between them on the scoreboard. Expect the rematch to sell fast — nights like this are how a sport builds a generation of fans.

What happens next

The WXV Global Series is only getting started, and the rematch storylines write themselves. England will need to fix the errors that cost them in Toronto — the disallowed try, the sin bin, the late defensive lapse — while Canada can play with the confidence of a team that now knows a late try Stuns England when it matters most. The series standings now look wide open, and every contender will have studied how Canada closed out the final quarter. The gap between these teams has never looked smaller.

For Gen Z sports fans, this is the kind of upset that makes a sport. One late try, one unbeaten run ended, and a home crowd that will remember exactly where it was. October has already delivered a World Series sweep story for the ages, as we covered with the Brewers' run to the Fall Classic, and the NBA season is tipping off under brand-new betting rules, which we broke down here. Add Canada's night in Toronto to the list.