Canada's Women's Rugby Team Trained in Burlington Before Beating England

Canada's senior women's rugby team spent a Tuesday afternoon this month on the pitch at the Centaurs Rugby Club on Fairview Street, working through set pieces, lineouts and contact drills for 90 minutes while a handful of supporters watched from the sideline. Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden and Burlington MP Karina Gould came by to wish the squad well before the matches ahead.

What happened next made the session worth remembering. On October 16 at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada beat England 24-21 in front of a record 18,621 fans, the team's first ever win over the Red Roses on home soil, ending a 41 match unbeaten run for the world's top ranked side.

Head coach Kevin Rouet had said in Burlington that home games are rare for the women's side and that the crowd would matter. "We play the majority of our games away, and it is just fun to see more people," he said. "Sometimes the missing piece is the excitement you need to win those games."

Savannah Bauder opened the scoring in the 16th minute, Alysha Corrigan and DaLeaka Menin added tries in the second half, and Shoshanah Seumanutafa crossed in the dying minutes to seal the result. Captain Sophie de Goede put the comeback down to the squad's resilience: "we showed real resiliency to get the win."

The two sides meet again on Friday, October 23 at TD Place in Ottawa, kickoff at 7 p.m. ET, with the match broadcast live on TSN.