The second-ranked Canadian women open their Rugby World Cup campaign Saturday in England with a display of their depth.
Coach Kevin Rouet's starting 15 enter their game against No. 14 Fiji in York with a combined 486 caps, while the eight-woman bench has a combined 293 caps.
Canada will be able to send on the likes of lock Tyson Beukeboom (77 caps), prop DaLeaka Menin (63 caps), flanker Karen Paquin (45 caps) and hooker Emily Tuttosi (35 caps) off the bench at York Community Stadium.
Beukeboom, the most-capped Canadian women's player, Paquin and starting prop Olivia DeMerchant are all participating in their fourth World Cup.
Canada and Fiji have met just once before, with the Canadians winning 24-7 in September 2022 in Suva, in their final tune-up for the last World Cup where they finished fourth.
After Fiji, Canada continues Group B play against No. 9 Wales on Aug. 30 in Manchester and No. 8 Scotland on Sept. 6 in Exeter. If the competition unfolds per the rankings, the Canadians will face No. 6 Australia in the quarterfinals, No. 3 New Zealand in the semifinals and No. 1 England in the final before a sellout crowd at Twickenham's 82,000-capacity Allianz Stadium.
Organizers reported this week that 375,000 of the 470,000 tickets for the expanded 32-match, 16-team tournament have already been sold, three times the number sold at the last World Cup in New Zealand.
Winners of five straight, the Canadians enter the tournament on a seven-game unbeaten run (6-0-1) since losing 21-12 to England at the WXV tournament in Vancouver in October.
“The team has put in a lot of work to get to this point,” said Rouet. “We have been building really since the last World Cup, so we are very excited to get going here in England. Fiji will be a fun team to play against. They are unpredictable, so they will test us on the pitch, but it’s on us to showcase our style of play and display when we are one of the best teams in the world.”
Rouet has made six changes from the starting 15 that beat No. 5 Ireland 47-26 on Aug. 9 in Belfast in its final warm-up game ahead of the tournament. Four of those are in the pack with two changes in the backs.
Taylor Perry starts at fly half, some three years after sitting out the last World Cup. Perry had been selected to start Canada's opening game in New Zealand in 2022 but was ruled out of the entire tournament after suffering a knee injury in Canada's final training session that required surgery.
Forward Rachel Smith, who earned the first of her three caps in May against the U.S., is in line to make her World Cup debut off the bench.
Canada's best showing at the World Cup came in 2014 when it finished runner-up to England. The Canadians finished fourth last time out, losing 36-0 to France in the third-place game after falling 26-19 to England in the semifinal.
Canada also finished fourth in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
Fiji went 1-2-0 at the last World Cup, its first trip to the tournament. Fiji failed to advance after lopsided losses to England (84-19) and France (44-0), and a 21-17 win over South Africa.
Canada, whose tournament record is 25-18-2, has posted a 16-5-1 record since the last World Cup. Four of those losses were to England, with the other to the defending champion New Zealand Black Ferns. Canada drew New Zealand 27-27 in Pacific Four Series play in May in Christchurch.
England, which last lifted the trophy in 1994, kicks off the tournament Friday against the 10th-ranked U.S. in Sunderland's Stadium of Light. The Red Roses have won 27 straight and 57 of their last 58 tests, with the lone blemish a 34-31 loss to New Zealand in the final of the 2021 World Cup.
That loss was one of six for the Red Roses in the World Cup final, with five of those defeats coming at the hands of New Zealand. England also lost to the U.S. in the final of the inaugural 1991 tournament.
The Red Roses have won the other 20 meetings with the U.S.
World Rugby says, "as a rule," it does not provide prize money for its tournaments.
"We partner instead with unions to make significant investments in high-performance systems pathways, processes, people and competitions to help teams arrive at the tournament ready to perform to their potential," the world governing body said in a statement. "However, to support the journey to Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, a comprehensive package of funding and development has been made available to all participating unions."
According to its financial report, Rugby Canada received $7.6 million of its $20.1-million budget from World Rugby for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024.
Canada Roster
Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Gillian Boag, Calgary, Alta., Capilano RFC; Olivia DeMerchant, Mapledale, N.B., Halifax Tars RFC; Sophie de Goede, Victoria, Saracens (England); Courtney O'Donnell, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que., Stade Bordelais (France); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Alexandra Tessier (capt.), Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Florence Symonds, Vancouver, UBC; Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England).
Replacements
Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Rachel Smith, South Surrey, B.C., UBC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
