Canada boss Kévin Rouet reflects on England wins that came 'a year too late'

If anybody thought that Canada coach Kévin Rouet might slow down, catch his breath and reflect on an impressive run of two wins and a draw over world champions England, then they clearly don’t know the man.

Just over a week after Canada won their second consecutive match over the Red Roses, the Frenchman was in London, catching up with a couple of his Canadian charges, most notably fly-half Claire Gallagher who pulled the strings as Trailfinders Women fought back against Sale Sharks to reach the JAECOO PWR NextGen Cup final.

A day later he was on a flight to Georgia, where he will lend his experience to Canada’s men as they resume their Nations Cup campaign.

It will allow him to keep his hand in with Canada’s women next be in action in spring 2027. The Pacific Four Series pits them against Australia, New Zealand and USA, having finished second after they lost at home to the Black Fearns this year.

“It is positive for our programme, just a year too late,” Rouet told RugbyPass. “Still, it is positive that we can win multiple games and we pushed through some new players to increase the depth of those who can compete against England, so all good and positive.

“We play New Zealand in our first game, and New Zealand are in good spirits. I’m amazed in what they do, and we have to be ready to improve. They can prep because they are off season, whereas we aren’t.”

As well as Canada’s trio of matches against England, Rouet’s side also beat Scotland 64-26 in Edinburgh but slipped to a 21-5 defeat to France in La Rochelle.

That match came a week after Canada’s 26-26 draw with England in Exeter, though they got it out of their system by the time they returned home for matches in Toronto and Ottawa.

If they needed a late Shoshanah Seumanutafa try to win the first match 24-21, they showed their maturity and confidence in the second. In Ottawa they kept England on the backfoot with their linespeed, and their ability to force errors and capitalise on the chances they created to win 31-22.

It might have been three wins from three, had Gallagher not kicked the ball into touch on the final play at Sandy Park. The result still ended England’s 39-match winning run and showed that Canada were on the right path.

“Even if people don’t care about the draw, the draw was something to build on,” Rouet said. “We didn’t win, but we were in the game. We didn’t manage the last 20 minutes well, so we could see that if we managed those minutes better, we could get a better result.

“The emotion meant we weren’t in control, but in the second game we definitely knew we could do it, so we were more in control of our emotions and knew what we had to do.

“We addressed the emotion in the game. We were still not good in the scrum, but we managed the rest of the game better. Against England, if you don’t win the scrum you have to win a lot of other aspects of the game and we didn’t let losing the scrum affect us too much.”

The biggest positive from Canada’s series was the emergence of players who will reinforce the squad that reached the Women’s Rugby World Cup final. Many have now caught the attention of JAECOO Premiership Women’s Rugby head coaches and will grow in importance as the 2029 World Cup draws nearer.

“Kiki Idowu my hooker was amazing,” Rouet said. “Lizzie Gibson, our No.8 was one of the players to come through post-World Cup. Gabrielle Senft, our number six, and Savannah Bauder the fullback already have the starting jerseys. That means a lot, and means they are ready.

“They are going to come to the PWR already ready. This is different and they immediately add value to the PWR. They can compete against England and while they may need a few more games (to settle in), PWR will provide the rugby they can’t get in Canada.”

Rouet knows PWR rugby well. He has assisted with reigning champions Saracens, and a large number of his players feature in the league, including captain and star player Sophie de Goode, vice-captain Alex Tessier, and livewire scrum-half Olivia Apps.

By the time their match with New Zealand rolls around, Julia Schell should also be back in action, with the Trailfinders full-back estimating her return from an ACL injury to be two months away.

Having players in the PWR is double-edged sword for Rouet though. While players play a high level of rugby every week, Rouet has less control than if they stay in Canada.

Canada made headlines around the globe when it emerged that they had crowdfunded to buy themselves the necessary time together in the build-up to Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.

Rouet admits that while he isn’t involved in the finances, winning twice over England in front of bumper home crowds won’t hurt when it comes to seeking funding from the various bodies in Canada.

“I’m not involved, but we fundraised to win the World Cup,” Rouet said. “We could have gone to the World Cup without this funding, but we wanted to win the World Cup. We wanted more time together and you saw the product that more time together meant.

“Now, we have try and do it every year and not just every four years. If I have more access to the players and more time together we will keep on improving, so government funding and sponsorship doesn’t hurt.”

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