Seumanutafa’s late try gives Canada 24-21 victory over England

Canada defeated England 24-21 at BMO Field in Toronto on Friday, with replacement Shoshanah Seumanutafa scoring the decisive try two minutes from time. According to World Rugby’s match report, the victory was Canada’s first over England in a decade and ended the world champions’ unbeaten run.

Watch the highlights:

Savannah Bauder scored first for Canada, but England responded through Maddie Feaunati and Zoe Harrison before half-time. Both England tries came while Canadian second-row Laetitia Royer was in the sin bin. Canada had kept the visitors scoreless for the opening half-hour before England turned their forward pressure into points.

Alysha Corrigan’s try brought Canada back into contention after the interval, only for Sarah Bern to answer for England. DaLeaka Menin then scored to narrow the deficit before Seumanutafa supplied the winning finish. World Rugby named Menin as player of the match, repeating the recognition she received when the teams met in September.

That earlier meeting finished 26-26 in Exeter on September 19. Rugby Canada reported that the draw ended England’s 39-match winning streak, with Olivia Apps scoring Canada’s final try and Sophie de Goede converting to bring the scores level. Canada then resisted sustained late pressure to secure the draw in front of a sold-out crowd of 14,000. Friday’s win followed that result in the autumn sequence between the sides.

The Toronto fixture also marked Canada’s return to home competition after finishing runners-up at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. In its team announcement, Rugby Canada said captain de Goede and Asia Hogan-Rochester were returning to the starting lineup after missing the match against France. Corrigan was selected to start for the first time since the World Cup, having missed September’s WXV matches through injury.

The teams are scheduled to meet again on October 23 at TD Place in Ottawa, the second Canadian stop on their Rugby Rematch Tour. Rugby Canada’s schedule places the Ottawa game after the meetings in Exeter and Toronto. Canada therefore heads into that final encounter of the three-match autumn sequence with a draw and a victory against England.