Jane Kirby knew she’d get emotional when the Canadian anthem echoed at BMO Field and Canada’s women’s rugby team took the pitch, but she didn’t care.
asserted
she → know → pitch
It seemed like only yesterday that the former rugby player, who represented Canada at the World Cup in 2014 and 2017, had to compete on university side fields with maybe 120 people in attendance.
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who → seem → attendance
Friday night showed how far the sport has come in Canada, setting a North American attendance record for the women’s game with 18,621 fans on hand for a thrilling 24-21 victory over top-ranked England.
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sport → show → England
It was a statement win, in a rematch of the 2025 World Cup final won by the Red Roses.
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It → win → Roses
“The growth has been incredible, and now to be on this side of it and see how it’s grown, it’s just overwhelming pride,”
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it → see → it
said Kirby, among many former players sporting red and white maple leaf jackets with patches that read: 2014 Rugby World Cup silver medalists.
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that → say → medalists
“This is their own story, this is their own pathway,” Kirby added.
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Kirby → add → ?
“To even just be a part of that foundation — to open the elevator for the next person, to send it down for them to come up and go to the next level of great heights — I cannot even imagine what this ... generation of athletes will do for us.”
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generation → open → us
The English women hadn’t lost since 2022.
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women → lose → 2022
Canada ended their undefeated streak at 41 matches after centre Shoshanah Seumanutafa converted a try in the 78th minute for the winning margin.
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Seumanutafa → end → margin
When time expired, the BMO Field stands shook.
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stands → expire → ?
England head coach John Mitchell said he struggled to communicate because the stadium was so loud, while Canada coach Kévin Rouet’s voice was gone by the end of the night.
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voice → say → night
“Last year it was a crowd against us, this time it (was) a crowd for us,” said Canadian national team player Justine Pelletier.
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Pelletier → say → us
Added teammate Emily Tuttosi: “We’ve never had a whole line of people cheering us on as we got off the bus in our own country ...
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we → add → country
Especially walking around after, all those people celebrating and believing in us ...
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people → walk → us
to say that we appreciated it, and it means the world, is an understatement.”
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it → say → world
The chance to see history in the making attracted fans such as Whitney Queeley, who grew up playing the sport in Brampton and brought 10-year-old son Elijah for a look at high-level rugby in person.
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who → see → person
“I thought I’d bring up the next generation,” Queeley said.
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Queeley → think → generation
“He wants to play, so it was a great opportunity to see some great international rugby right at home.”
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it → want → home
Kirby said her uniform now lives on a shelf, but she’s stayed involved in the game as an assistant coach with the University of Guelph and Team Ontario.
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she → say → Guelph
Her five- and six-year-old daughters play noncontact flag rugby in the Guelph Redcoats program.
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daughters → play → program
Michelle Wyn travelled from Calgary with daughters Leighton, 10, and Adelaide, 13, who play for the only inner-city club near their Alberta home.
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who → travel → home
Ahead of the match, Leighton and Adelaide made a dozen friendship bracelets (inspired by pop star Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour) and handed them out to other fans.
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Leighton → make → fans
“We made bracelets and wrote funny rugby things on them, and we made a set for the team with their names on it to give to them,” said Adelaide, whose favourite player is Sophie de Goede, the Canadian captain and World Rugby’s 2025 player of the year.
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player → make → year
“It’s like the Taylor Swift effect of girls sport,” Wyn said.
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Wyn → ’ → sport
The rugby mom recalls scouring the internet for live streams of Canada’s matches in the past.
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mom → recall → past
Now the national team’s games often air on network television.
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games → air → television
More than 3.7 million Canadians tuned in to the 2025 World Cup final, the most-watched rugby match in the country’s history.
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Canadians → tune → history
Wyn and her daughters also travelled to England for that match, with Leighton and Adelaide carrying signs and cheering throughout at London’s Twickenham Stadium.
“It gets me really emotional — kind of choked up, I guess — as a parent,” Wyn said.
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Wyn → travel → parent
“My favourite thing on the weekend is watching them play.
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them → watch → weekend
I love that … (some day) they could also play at this level.”
uncertain
they → love → level
The Aporia
