Canada halts England's 39-match women's rugby winning streak with 26-26 WXV draw

Canada's WXV draw stops England's streak at 39

Canada and England finished level at 26-26 at Sandy Park in Exeter on Saturday, ending England's 39-match winning run in women's rugby, according to The Associated Press reporting carried by the Winnipeg Free Press. The result came in WXV, the international women's rugby competition. The AP dispatch, datelined Exeter, did not provide a breakdown of scorers or minute-by-minute detail beyond the final score.

A rematch built on last year's World Cup final

The fixture carried the weight of the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final, which England won 33-13 against Canada. Canada captain Sophie de Goede told BBC Sport she was still losing sleep over that defeat nearly a year later, saying she spends "four to five nights a week" unable to fall asleep because she is "still thinking about the final." De Goede framed Saturday's match as an opportunity to measure Canada's progress against the world champions, ranked third in the world heading into the game.

Framing from both camps: revenge and the 2029 cycle

Canada head coach Kevin Rouet played down the revenge narrative in comments published by BBC Sport, saying: "Revenge is a good brand but they [England] won the final of the World Cup - that was the most important game to win, the next important games will be in the World Cup 2029." England head coach John Mitchell described England's autumn block of fixtures as an "audition" for the 2029 World Cup, pointing to travel demands and unfamiliar facilities as pressure tests for his squad.

Program gap, PWR exposure and the route to 2029

BBC Sport outlined the structural differences between the two programs: Canada has 25 players in England's Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR), while head coach Rouet and assistant Alex Austerberry both coach Saracens Women and Nathan Smith coaches Loughborough Lightning. De Goede joked that the Canadians in PWR are "not like we're coming in to spy," adding, "We just don't have the quality league [in Canada]." Mitchell said he and Charlie Hayter, head of women's performance at England Rugby, have lobbied to lift PWR playing time for English-Qualified Players from next season, backing a benchmark of "1,000 PWR playing minutes a season" as meaningful for Red Roses selection. The Rugby Football Union confirmed the current requirement of 13 EQP players on average across matchday squads will remain, while club injury credit is set to be removed from 2027-28.

What comes next for England and Canada

After the WXV opener, England face New Zealand at Allianz Stadium before two further tests against Canada in Toronto and Ottawa, per BBC Sport. Mitchell framed the successive fixtures as preparation for the 2029 World Cup cycle and as a measure of how England's squad handles travel and pressure.