Canada's Alysha Corrigan reveals how she pulled off stunning solo try in historic England win

Alysha Corrigan has revealed how she scored the sensational solo try that helped Canada beat the Red Roses 24-21 in Toronto.

The 29-year-old wing crossed early in the second half, helping set Canada on course for victory at BMO Field.

The result ended the unbeaten run of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 champions England, who had gone 41 matches without defeat.

Having missed the WXV Global Series fixtures in September, Corrigan made an immediate impact on her return to the international stage. It was her first Test appearance since last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 final at Allianz Stadium.

“Honestly, it was a pretty crazy moment,” Corrigan told the Charlottetown Guardian.

“I just saw that there was nobody in the backfield and there were kind of like two defenders on me. I was like, ‘Well, I either keep this ball in hand and could get tackled into touch, or let’s see if I can pull this off.’

“That was kind of my mindset. Then, when it bounced up into my hands perfectly, I was like, ‘Oh my God, this worked.’”

In the days following the victory, Rugby Canada released footage of Corrigan practising the same play in training, demonstrating the preparation behind the spectacular score.

“It [was] fun to pull [it] off in a game, but yeah, it was one of those holy shit moments,” Corrigan said.

Friday night was also a special occasion for Corrigan. Before kick-off at BMO Field, the Olympic silver medallist ran onto the pitch with her four-year-old niece, Sophie, and sang the Canadian national anthem alongside her.

A total of 18,621 spectators attended the match in Toronto, setting a record for a standalone women’s rugby fixture in North America. The crowd created a lively atmosphere and roared Canada on as the hosts brought England’s remarkable unbeaten run to an end.

Next up, Canada head to Ottawa and TD Place this Friday, with hopes high that their historic victory will attract another large crowd when the third-ranked side take on the reigning world champions.

“There was obviously a lot of buzz and excitement around the Toronto game, but I think that with the win, it will only help the ticket sales in Ottawa and people will want to be a part of that atmosphere and be a part of that game,” Corrigan said.

“Every time that we’ve played in Ottawa before, we’ve had a great crowd and hopefully we can continue that.”