Talking points: How Canada proved their point and ended England's winning run

Although the skies in south-west England were grey and dreary, the rugby at Sandy Park was electric, with Canada bringing the Red Roses’ 39-match winning streak to an end with a 26-26 battle that went right up until the 80th minute.

As the final scrum sent the ball to Claire Gallagher, who kicked it into touch to end the game in a draw, boos echoed around the stadium. Canada had proved a point: they can take on the world champions. Meanwhile, the Red Roses will need to review what clicked and what, evidently, didn’t.

Following England’s shaky start to the first half against Australia last weekend in their otherwise dominant 48-15 win, and Canada breezing past Scotland without much complaint in a 64-26 victory, the rematch of last September’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final, where England triumphed 33-13 in front of 81,500 people, had been eagerly anticipated.

Both teams opted for a 6:2 split across the bench, giving an indication that this was always going to be a game that tested which team could dominate up front. This is the furthest we have seen England tested, and there has long been speculation about when and how England’s winning streak would come to an end.

Canada have come away from today having proved themselves since the Women’s Rugby World Cup final last September.

Here are four talking points from today’s game…

Unpicking England at the seams

Canada attacked England in the areas where we have known the Red Roses to be strongest: the set piece, the lineout and the edges out wide.

They caused key momentum shifts. Sophie de Goede and Julia Omokhuale won penalties immediately after kick-off, preventing the Red Roses from exiting cleanly and immediately putting them under pressure inside their own 22.

Olivia Apps marshalled the momentum from set-piece attack, with the England defence barely having time to organise around the ruck before DaLeaka Menin could snipe around the fringes. It was so effective that she scored a first-half brace, with Lizzie Gibson’s try also coming through short, crash plays.

Meanwhile, by the 70th minute, with England pressing phase after phase, the try line remained out of reach, Canadian shirts flooding the defensive line to hold up an English try that would have decided the game.

And how do you stop a world champion backline featuring the likes of Ellie Kildunne, Meg Jones and Jess Breach from scoring? You make sure they don’t get the ball.

Line breaks among England’s backs were few and far between, with Canada managing the threat by pressuring Zoe Harrison into making the pass and maintaining an effective rush defence.

Post-match, Sarah Bern was adamant that the result was a positive: “This is what we want. We’re acting like this is a loss, but it isn’t. It’s a draw.”

This was echoed by England head coach John Mitchell, who said: “At times it was a real arm wrestle, wasn’t it? We’re in a real Test series, aren’t we?

“This is ideal for us, and it will allow us to stay focused on what’s necessary for 80-minute performances.

“We took a while in the first half to get access, but when we did, we converted well. In that second half, we’ll learn to convert.”

Keep calm and play… Canadian

Canada displayed a level of composure that has taken them to an entirely new level.

They were undeterred when they fell behind on the scoreboard, undeterred when England scored first in the second half, and undeterred when England were camped in their half.

Even with a five-metre lineout in the 74th minute, Sophie de Goede casually stole the ball, and England had flashbacks to the 2022 Rugby World Cup Final.

England did make things difficult for themselves, gifting Canada a second penalty right under the posts but opting to tap and go instead, which they failed to convert. But that was the first decision-making error of that kind we have seen from England this year.

Even when Zoe Harrison intercepted and booted the ball downfield, Charity Williams and Asia Hogan-Rochester chased back to compete with Claudia Moloney-MacDonald and collect the kick. Two phases later, Alex Tessier exited into touch, denying another England try-scoring opportunity. World class.

Like looking in a mirror

There was no space to breathe for either side as they seemed to exchange tries and errors like for like.

Canada have developed their bag of tricks into a diverse and threatening playbook, while tightening their defence to combat the range of threats England can throw at them.

Both teams had tries scrubbed out. Claudia Moloney-MacDonald’s grubber through was ruled out for a knock-on, while Asia Hogan-Rochester had one of the most brilliant runs of their career scrubbed off less than three minutes later for a forward pass.

Crucially, Canada have been able to front up against the Red Roses’ physicality. Kiki Idowu was immense.

And when Olivia Apps tackles Sadia Kabeya off the ground and into touch in the 60th minute, you know you have a game on your hands.

A saving grace for both sides was the territorial kicking. Zoe Harrison was exceptional, placing 50:22s that marched England up the pitch. Alex Tessier and Claire Gallagher fielded a range of English backline threats, and it has been one of the most impressive territorial kicking battles in the women’s game to date.

What next?

Ultimately, both teams had inconsistencies, but today seemed overwhelmingly about the mental battle.

Canada appeared more composed in the decisive moments, forcing the Red Roses to outplay them. England struggled to find the answer.

That makes the remaining WXV fixtures even more exciting, with the Red Roses heading to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham next week to face the Black Ferns. Meanwhile, Canada travel to La Rochelle to play France.

And let’s not forget: these two sides will meet another two times in WXV Global Series, in Toronto and Ottawa.

Two titans fighting it out again and again. Play on!