Red Roses captain makes honest admission ahead of Canada rematch in Toronto

Red Roses captain Meg Jones believes her team did themselves a “disservice” in their 26-26 draw with Canada in the WXV Global Series.

This weekend, England will play the North Americans again in the second of three Test matches the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 finalists will play this calendar year.

Ahead of the fixture in Toronto on Friday night, John Mitchell’s squad is buoyed by the return of Amy Cokayne to the starting XV. The experienced hooker missed September’s fixtures with an injury.

September’s stalemate against Canada ended a 38-match winning run for the Red Roses, stretching all the way back to their loss to the Black Ferns in the 2021 Rugby World Cup final, which was hosted in 2022.

“I think we probably did ourselves a disservice in the first game,” Jones said.

“The way we performed, I don’t think it was our optimal, so we’ll definitely have a point to prove in terms of our own performance.

“We want to build on it. We know we’ve got more to show in terms of how we’re performing.

“We’re still competing at a high level and we’re still the best in the world, but the fact that we’re still refining what we’re doing is a testament to us as a team and how far we want to go and push this game.”

Friday’s WXV Global Series clash at BMO Field will be played in front of a record crowd. Rugby Canada is predicting that 18,000 supporters will make their way to Toronto, smashing the attendance record for a standalone women’s rugby fixture in North America.

The teams will meet again a week later at Ottawa’s TD Place. England will then travel to New Jersey to play the USA Women’s Eagles at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

That fixture against the USA will conclude a gruelling six-Test run across eight weeks. In August, Mitchell described how these fixtures would, in part, serve as preparation for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 in Australia. His captain, Jones, echoed those sentiments.

“It’s a dress rehearsal for Australia, the next World Cup, and it means we can be away from home and really fine-tune what it’s going to be like when we’re at the next World Cup,” she said.

“This gives us an amazing opportunity to do that, going onto their home soil, their fans.

“It’s hard to replicate what a World Cup gives you because it’s not a World Cup, it’s a completely separate tournament.

“We’re competitors and we always love competing and playing, so that’s the bit we love.”