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With 16 teams competing at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, here is a run-down of each team’s World Cup history, their aspirations for the tournament and key personnel. Next up, Pool B.
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CANADA
• Manager: Kévin Rouet Appointed: 2022 Nationality: France
• Captain: Alex Tessier Position: Centre Club: Exeter Chiefs
• Key Player: Florence Symonds Position: Outside centre Club: University of British Columbia
How Many World Cups: Nine (debut in 1991)
World Cup History: Canada was one of the original 12 nations which played in the 1991 Rugby World Cup, having since then qualified for the tournament in every edition. They have qualified for the semi-finals on five occasions, with their best performance coming in 2014 in which they reached the final only to concede defeat to England.
Current Form: Canada will officially begin the Rugby World Cup ranked second in the world, following a 16–5–1 record since the last World Cup. A pretty impressive record for a team who still needed to fundraise to best prepare for the tournament. They beat the Black Ferns for the first time in their history last year, drawing with them in this year’s Pacific Four Series, as well as recording victories over the USA and Australia, imposing a soul-crushing forward dominance and a precise backline.
Tournament Hopes: Is this the year that Canada will finally climb to the top and earn the most coveted prize in the rugby world? They have the talent, mindset and determination to get there, all that remains to be seen is if they can do it on the day against a terrifyingly on form England team and a Black Ferns outfit who always bring their ‘A’ game to World Cups.
SCOTLAND
• Manager: Bryan Easson Appointed: 2020 Nationality: Scottish
• Captain: Rachel Malcolm Position: Back Row Club: Trailfinders Women
• Key Player: Evie Gallagher Position: Back Row Club: Bristol Bears
How Many World Cups: Six (debut in 1994)
World Cup History: While Scotland didn’t participate in the first-ever Women’s Rugby World Cup, they would go on to host the next one, welcoming all 12 contenders into their home. Interestingly, it was their best World Cup outing, finishing in fifth place after defeating Canada in the Shield final. After an absence of eight years, they made a return to the tournament in 2022.
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Current Form: Scotland’s last 12 months have been a mix of flavours, as they performed well in WXV2, only succumbing to Australia, but failed to gain any momentum from the 2025 Six Nations or the World Cup warm-up games, totalling five losses in the last seven games. They can be lethal and ruthless at times, but consistency is their issue.
Tournament Hopes: Qualifying for the knockout stages is the most desired goal for the Scottish setup, but for that, they have to not slip up against Wales and Fiji in the first two rounds and string together back-to-back performances. They have the perfect chance to make it into the final eight, something they haven’t achieved since 2010.
WALES
• Manager: Sean Lynn Appointed: 2025 Nationality: Welsh
• Captain: Alex Callender and Kate Williams Position: Back Row Club: Harlequins and Gloucester-Hartpury
• Key Player: Keira Bevan Position: Scrum half Club: Bristol Bears
How Many World Cups: Eight (debut in 1991)
World Cup History: Wales finished mid-table in the opening edition of the tournament. They would later qualify for another seven World Cups, only missing the 2006 tournament hosted by Canada. Their best campaign came in 1994 when they finished in fourth.
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Current Form: The last two seasons have been a turbulent journey for Wales, having collected the Wooden Spoon in the 2025 Six Nations and finishing second last in last year’s WXV2.
The team’s lack of cohesion, belief and physicality has been dragging them to the bottom, with Lynn being brought on board to find a way to wake the team from its slumber. Although the former Gloucester-Hartpury head coach has had little time to work with the team, they have earned a hard-fought win against Australia in the warm-up World Cup games, a promising sign for their future.
Tournament Hopes: While Canada seem to be in a league of their own, Wales has a clear path to qualify for the World Cup knockout stages- beating Scotland in the opening round. If they do, they will likely contend with England in the quarters, an all but impossible task. However, a quarter-final qualification would be a rewarding achievement after the last couple of years.
FIJI
• Manager: Ioan Cunningham Appointed: 2025 Nationality: Welsh
• Captain: Alfreda Fisher Position: Back Row Club: Fijian Drua
• Key Player: Karalaini Naisewa Position: Number Eight Club: Fijian Drua
How Many World Cups: 1 (debut in 2021)
World Cup History: The Fijiana made their World Cup debut in 2021 (played in 2022), and showed what they could do when they defeated the Springbok Women 21-17.
Current Form: Their 2024 WXV3 campaign wasn’t on the level that everyone expected, failing to even reach the top 3, conceding losses to their long-time rivals, Samoa, and Spain. However, with Ioan Cunningham aboard, the proud Pacific Island nation seems to be in a better place, claiming another Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship.
Tournament Hopes: With Canada being the main shark of Pool B, Fiji will be looking to surprise Wales and Scotland with their unpredictable, offloading style of play. While it seems an improbable scenario, it would be perilous not to be wary of the danger they possess.
Want to see which players from this pool made RugbyPass’ Top 50 Women’s Players in the world? View the Top 50 list here.
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