Photo via BBC Sport

Canada captain still loses sleep over final loss to England

Almost a full year after England defeated Canada to claim the Women's Rugby World Cup, Canadian skipper Sophie de Goede admitted she still struggles to sleep up to five evenings every week because memories of the championship defeat linger. The world's third-ranked squad will get another opportunity against the titleholders this Saturday at Sandy Park, although head coach Kevin Rouet dismissed retaliation talk, stressing that the decisive milestone arrived during that previous tournament and will not truly return until 2029.

England's grueling stretch continues with a match against New Zealand at Allianz Stadium followed by two fixtures against Canada hosted in Ottawa and Toronto, an itinerary Red Roses boss John Mitchell views as an audition under road pressures.

Canada heavily utilizes England's top tier to cultivate talent, placing 25 squad members within Premiership Women's Rugby alongside national staff Rouet, Alex Austerberry, and Nathan Smith working at club setups like Saracens and Loughborough Lightning. Seeking more action for homegrown talent, Mitchell and England Rugby women's performance chief Charlie Hayter have advocated for English Qualified Players to log a targeted 1,000 league minutes each campaign to increase senior team consideration.

Although the Rugby Football Union intends to preserve the benchmark averaging 13 qualified players per matchday squad, upcoming rules starting in 2027-28 will restrict club injury relief credits solely to competitors injured during England duty, creating added hurdles for sides fielding overseas internationals.