Canada player ratings v Scotland | WXV Global Series 2026

Canada proved why they are ranked third in the world, as they beat Scotland with a brutal 64-26 performance in their WXV Global Series opener at the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh.

Two tries from Lizzie Gibson in the first half, alongside scores by Liv Apps, Kiki Idowu and Julia Omokhuale set Kevin Rouet’s side up well, but Scotland stayed in the fight with two strong tries of their own and plenty of fight.

Ill-discipline from Brittany Kassil and Gabrielle Senft saw Canada drop to 13 players for a period of time in the second half, but the strong shift from the Canadians in the first half, as well as tries by Taylor Perry, Olivia Apps, Justine Pelletier, Gabrielle Senft and debutant Savannah Bauder meant they had done more than enough to secure a convincing victory in Edinburgh.

Scotland’s efforts cannot be overlooked, with some great deference, plenty of ambition and a further two scores in the second half by Lana Skeldon and Rhona Lloyd.

However, here’s how Canada rated against Scotland…

15 Claire Gallagher – 6.5
The full-back put on reliable and strong performance, with decent success off the tee to convert seven out of Canada’s 10 tries. Her well-timed pop to pass to Charity Williams created a try, although it was ultimately ruled out for a knock-on a few phases prior. A solid shift overall.

14 Fancy Bermudez – 7
Bermudez was pretty powerful and popped up in lots of areas. A big carry by the 24-year-old took Canada right up to the line, with Helen Nelson and Shona Campbell struggling to bring her down. The position she gained was instrumental in Julia Omokhuale’s try. She was consistently strong with ball in hand and looked promising for an exciting WXV Global Series campaign.

13 Florence Symonds – 6
It was a pretty quiet outing for Florence Symonds, with her late tackle giving Scotland an advantage. However, she made a few good tackles and generally contributed solidly.

12 Alexandra Tessier – 6.5
Not the flashiest of performances for captain Alexandra Tessier, but still an important one. The experienced centre kept Canada composed, managed the game well and helped to keep the ball moving. Plenty of work that doesn’t always show up on the scoresheet was done by her.

11 Charity Williams – 6
A memorable day for two-time Olympic medalist and HSBC SVNS Series star Charity Williams, following a long and decorated career with Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team, as she made her debut in the 15s jersey.

She took her opportunity well to score, although it was ultimately disallowed for an earlier knock-on. However, the winger looked comfortable and raring to go, which is exciting heading into the rest of the WXV Global Series campaign.

10 Taylor Perry – 7
A strong outing overall for Oakville Crusaders’ Taylor Perry, with her getting on the scoreboard for a phenomenal try. She did knock the ball on early in the game in the backfield, which gave Scotland a good attacking opportunity, but she more than made up to it with her carries. Early on in the second half, a gap in the Scottish defence opened and the 26-year-old went gliding through to dot down under the posts. Fantastic work.

9 Olivia Apps – 9
Well, what a match for Olivia Apps, who added a Premiership Women’s Rugby title to her list of accolades at the end of the season. The Player of the Match set the tone from the get-go – keeping the ball alive, playing a high tempo game, seeing space around the breakdowns and getting over for two tries, with a third disallowed.

She did find herself caught in a maul, with Rachel Malcolm, Evie Gallagher and Rhea Clarke doing some outstanding defensive work, which led to Gallagher breaking free and Shona Campbell finishing off the efforts with a superb try. However, the impact Apps made in the 50 minutes she spent on the pitch was outstanding. A very well-deserved player of the match.

1 Brittany Kassil – 5
In spite of getting on the score sheet by grounding Canada’s bonus point try from close range, it wasn’t the strongest outing by the prop. She was pinged a couple of times for scrum penalties for dropping her bind and her head-on-head contact with Scotland’s Meryl Smith resulted in a yellow card that was upgraded to a 20-minute red. A disappointing afternoon for the front rower.

2 Kiki Idowu – 7
Kiki Idowu had a strong and clinical match. She had an excellent early break and made some monstrous carries. Her brilliant offload found Rachel Smith on her shoulder, which set Canada up in a good attacking position and Lizzie Gibson eventually finished it. She put Scotland under pressure repeatedly with her lines, but a spilt ball which led to Charity William’s try being disallowed by TMO takes some gloss off the performance. Overall, a great outing.

3 Deleaka Menin – 6
A solid shift by the tighthead prop. She did well to edge Canada close to try line and contributed to the forward effort that gave the backs strong attacking opportunites.

4 Rachel Smith – 6
Smith showed an impressive work rate and some excellent running lines. She was effective in the forward exchanges and promises to be an exciting talent for Canada going forward.

5 Laetitia Royer – 6
The lock popped up around the pitch, got stuck into the rucks and was busy around the park overall. In spite of not being a standout performer, she put in a valuable graft to get the hard work done and done well.

6 Julia Omokhuale – 7
Well, Omokhuale has had a huge season so far, with an impressive 2025/26 season at Premiership Women’s Rugby champions Saracens and lots of excitement growing around her talent. The flanker was impossible to stop against Scotland and dotted down for Canada’s fifth score from a metre out. A strong showing from a player who continues to make a serious impression.

7 Lizzie Gibson – 8
Arguably the standout player of the first half, with two tries scored early on. Off the back of a quick tap penalty by Apps, Gibson saw the space and accelerated under the post from close range. She wasted no time for a second and burst through a couple Scottish defenders 17 minutes in. She made her presence known in lots of the tackles and breakdowns and put in an outstanding shift to secure Canada’s impressive victory.

8 Gabrielle Senft – 5
It wasn’t Gabrielle Senft’s usual powerhouse performance. Despite making some good tackles, a fantastic line-out disruption early on and powering over for a try in the final 10 minutes, the number eight was responsible for the obstruction that had Apps’ try disallowed and was shown a yellow card for side entry, making it a frustrating afternoon overall.

Replacements – 7
The game was already more or less won by the time the Canadian replacements entered the pitch, but when you’ve got the likes of 2025 World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year and recent Premiership Women’s Rugby Champion Sophie de Goede and experienced scrum-half Justine Pelletier entering the pitch, they’re still going to make an impact.

Pelletier came on around the 50-minute mark and immediately added to the game, as she spotted space in the Scottish defence and did a sneaky pick and go to break Canada into 50+ points.

Savannah Bauder, who made her debut for Canada on the SVNS Series in 2024, finally made her international debut in the 15s game and what a way to do it. Showing some ridiculous pace, Bauder danced round the Scottish defence to score, showing exactly why there is excitement around her.

Emily Tuttosi, Brooke Rempel, Sophie de Goede, Pamphinette Buisa, Asia Hogan-Rochester and debutant Sophie McDonald also made some strong carries and showed their physicality, adding well to Canada’s momentum to finish out the game.