Canada captain Sophie de Goede reveals she still struggles with sleep due to her team’s loss in the Women's Rugby World Cup final to England nearly a year ago. This weekend, Canada faces England again at Sandy Park in Exeter as part of a series that includes matches against New Zealand and further games in Toronto and Ottawa. Both teams see these encounters as preparation for the 2029 World Cup, with England’s head coach John Mitchell emphasizing the pressure management aspect crucial to team success.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In Exeter, on October 7, Canada ended England's record 39-match winning streak with a nail-biting 26-26 draw at Sandy Park during the WXV Global Series. The match saw four tries each from both teams and was particularly tense in the closing stages as neither side managed to score past that mark despite prolonged attacks by England. This is the first time since the 2022 World Cup final, where England defeated New Zealand, that they failed to secure a victory; however, their unbeaten streak extends to 40 matches including this draw. Canada, ranked third in the world and coached by Kevin Rouet, sees this as an important stepping stone ahead of the 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup, whereas England, led by head coach John Mitchell, views it as a constructive challenge for future improvement despite the setback.
Written for “Canada Ends England Rugby Streak” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
It is nearly a year since Canada lost the Women's Rugby World Cup final to England - but time has not been a healer for everyone.
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time → publish → everyone
"Four to five nights a week I can't fall asleep because I'm still thinking about the final," says Canada captain Sophie de Goede, who is preparing to take on the world champions this Saturday at Sandy Park in Exeter.
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who → fall → Exeter
So, is this match revenge for the side ranked third in the world?
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match → rank → world
Canada head coach Kevin Rouet is keen to play this down: "Revenge is a good brand but they [England] won the final of the World Cup - that was the most important game to win, the next important games will be in the World Cup 2029."
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games → play → Cup
After Canada, England play New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, before two more tests against Canada in Toronto and Ottawa.
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England → play → Toronto
In recent history, England's women have never faced such tough successive opposition.
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women → face → opposition
Red Roses head coach John Mitchell says the games are an "audition" for the 2029 World Cup.
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games → say → Cup
"You look at the geography that we're going to cover, we're not always going to be in our training base.
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we → look → base
We're going to be going to different facilities.
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We → go → facilities
It's a challenge," he said.
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he → say → ?
"It's going to be really cool to see how they handle pressure as well.
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they → go → pressure
I think the Red Roses are very good around pressure because I think it reveals how much they care".
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they → think → pressure
Canadians not PWR spies
There continues to be misconceptions around the status of the Canadian women: they are professional athletes but contracts, as with most other nations, do not yet compare to England's women.
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contracts → continue → women
The Canadian programme involves a clever strategy of using England's domestic PWR league to develop its players.
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programme → involve → players
There are 25 Canadians in PWR and the current Canada coaching staff includes Kevin Rouet and Alex Austerberry, who both coach Saracens Women, and Nathan Smith from Loughborough Lightning.
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who → be → Lightning
"It's not like we're coming in to spy," joked De Goede.
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Goede → come → ?
"We just don't have the quality league [in Canada]."
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We → have → Canada
Canada are not the only country to do this - PWR is littered with top internationals from across the globe.
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PWR → do → globe
Mitchell has told BBC Sport that he and Charlie Hayter, head of women's performance at England Rugby, have lobbied to increase PWR game time for English Qualified Players (EQP) from next season.
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he → tell → season
Mitchell has frequently pushed his theory that players who can reach 1,000 PWR playing minutes a season "gives them a higher probability" of playing for the Red Roses.
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who → push → Roses
"I haven't enjoyed seeing young English players between 21 and 23 not getting enough minutes," he said.
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he → enjoy → minutes
"I think that number [1,000] is very meaningful."
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number → think → ?
The RFU confirmed to BBC Sport the current requirements around 13 EQP players on average across matchday squads will remain.
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requirements → confirm → squads
However, the lure of signing foreign talent will be dampened by the removal of club injury credit, which helps cover the cost of replacing an injured player.
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which → sign → player
From the 2027-28 season, only players who sustain an injury while on international duty for one of England's representative teams will be eligible.
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who → sustain → teams
Besides this, if any EQP player is captured by another union, they will only be able to hold their EQP status until the end of that season.
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they → capture → season
The Aporia
