Canada name unchanged side for World Cup final
Canada defeated Australia 46-5 in the quater-final
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Canada head coach Kevin Rouet has named an unchanged 23 for Saturday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final against England at Twickenham.
It is the third consecutive match where he has stuck with the same line-up, following their 34-19 semi-final victory over reigning champions New Zealand.
The squad includes lock Sophie de Goede, a nominee for World Rugby’s Women’s 15s Player of the Year, who has been central to Canada’s campaign with her leadership and goal-kicking.
Openside flanker Karen Paquin and replacement Tyson Beukeboom are the only survivors from Canada’s defeat to England in the 2014 final, highlighting the blend of experience and fresh talent in the team.
Rouet admitted that Canada had previously struggled in high-pressure matches but said this group is now better prepared. He also noted the financial disparity, with England fully professional while Canada remain semi-professional, even relying on crowd-funding to support their World Cup campaign.
Despite this, Rouet insisted his players were ready to exploit any weaknesses in the Red Roses.
"We focus on ourselves but also show a couple of weaknesses that England have and hopefully during the game we're going to be able to put the pressure on that and force them to potentially go to their plan B or whatever they need to do to win this game," he said.
A capacity crowd of around 82,000 is expected at Twickenham, the majority backing England.
Canada XV: Julia Schell; Alysha Corrigan, Florence Symonds, Alexandra Tessier (capt), Asia Hogan-Rochester; Taylor Perry, Justine Pelletier; Fabiola Forteza, Karen Paquin, Caroline Crossley; Courtney O'Donnell, Sophie de Goede; DaLeaka Menin, Emily Tuttosi, McKinley Hunt
Reserves: Gillian Boag, Brittany Kassil, Olivia DeMerchant, Tyson Beukeboom, Laetitia Royer, Gabrielle Senft, Olivia Apps, Shoshanah Seumanutafa
