Rugby Canada Announces Senior Women’s Match Day Roster To Face World No. 1 Ranked England

November 12, 2021 (London, ENG) - Canada’s Senior Women’s 15s head coach Sandro Fiorino has announced his match day roster that will face No. 1 ranked England, November 14th

at Twickenham Stoop in London, England. Sunday’s match marks the first of two UK contests on the women’s Fall Tour, presented by DHL Rugby.

After arriving in London, the team went straight into preparation for their upcoming test, training at the Reading Rams’ facilities. Several familiar faces join Canada’s roster for their UK leg, led by veteran Elissa Alarie and joined by teammates Alysha Corrigan, Pamphinette Buisa, Fabiola Forteza and Sara Svoboda for the remainder of Fall Tour.

“We’re excited to field another strong group of players this weekend,” said Fiorino. “We are welcoming back some very talented individuals and are excited to see them contribute on the pitch.”

The side will be captained by New Brunswick’s Olivia deMerchant, a stalwart for the Exeter Chiefs and one of several players familiar with the English Premiership and its fanbase, including fellow Exeter teammates DaLeaka Menin and Emily Tuttosi, as well as Alex Ellis of the Saracens RFU and Paige Farries of the Worcester Warriors.

The Fall Tour marks the first series of test matches Canada has played since November, 2019. A total of 35 athletes have been selected, creating vital opportunities for the team to put into action the systems and strategies developed through the isolation period of COVID-effected operations. Sunday’s test against No. 1 ranked England will be an important marker for the team’s Rugby World Cup campaign launching October, 2022.

Ranked No. 1 in the world, The Red Roses enter Sunday’s Test Match fresh off a decisive 56-15 win over No. 2 ranked New Zealand on November 7th, their second win against New Zealand in as many weeks following a 43-12 win at Sandy Park in Exeter on October 31st.

“This will be an excellent measuring test for our team,” added Fiorino. “We are coming off of two positive results against the United States and we are looking forward to Sunday’s match, which will be another great opportunity to continue building our squad.”

Canada’s Senior Women’s 15s team kick off against England on November 14th at Twickenham Stoop in London. The match begins at 9:30am ET/6:30am PT and will be available to view live in Canada on TSN.ca or through the TSN app, with an encore tape-delayed broadcast on TSN. For more information, please visit www.rugby.ca.

CANADA’S WOMEN’S RUGBY TEAM’S MATCH DAY ROSTER

1. Olivia DeMerchant - Mapledale, NB - Exeter Chiefs/ Halifax Tars RFC
2. Emily Tuttosi - Souris, MB - Exeter Chiefs
3. DaLeaka Menin - Vulcan, AB - Exeter Chiefs
4. Emma Taylor - Scotsburn, NS - Halifax Rugby Football Club
5. Courtney Holtkamp - Rimbey, AB - Red Deer Titans
6. Fabiola Forteza - Quebec, QC - Club de Rugby de Quebec/Stade Bordelais
7. Karen Paquin - La Ville de Quebec, QC - Club de Rugby de Quebec/Stade Bordelais
8. Gabrielle Senft - Regina, SK - Castaway Wanderers/University of Victoria Vikes
9. Brianna Miller - Pointe-Claire, QC - Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC
10. Emily Belchos de Goede - Innisfil, ON - Westshore RFC
11. Paige Farries - Red Deer, AB - Worcester Warriors/Westshore RFC
12. Alexandra Tessier - Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC - Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC
13. Sara Kaljuvee - Ajax, ON - Toronto Scottish/ University of Victoria Vikes
14. Sabrina Poulin - St-Georges, QC – Town of Mount Royal Rugby/Stade Rennais
15. Elissa Alarie - Trois-Rivieres, QC - Westshore RFC/ Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC/Braves de Trois-Riviéres

RESERVES

16. Laura Russell - Bolton, ON - Toronto Nomads/Cowichan RFC
17. Brittany Kassil - Guelph, ON - Guelph Redcoats
18. Alex Ellis - Ottawa, ON - Barrhaven Scottish/Saracens
19. Tyson Beukeboom - Uxbridge, ON - Cowichan RFC
20. Pamphinette Buisa - Gatineau, QC – Canada Women’s 7’s/Ottawa Irish
21. Laetitia Royer - Loretteville, QC - Lons Section Paloise/ St-Anne-de-bellevue
22. Justine Pelletier - Riviere-du-Loup, QC - Les Lionnes du stade bordelais/ Club de Rugby de Quebec
23. Renee Gonzalez - Toronto, ON - Westshore RFC/University of Victoria Vikes

ABOUT RUGBY CANADA

Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in Canada. They administer and operate Men’s and Women’s Senior and Junior National programs in both rugby 15s and 7s, as well as govern the Club and community game for more than 30,000 registered participants from coast to coast in conjunction with ten Provincial Union members.

Rugby Canada is headquartered at the Al Charron National Training Centre in Langford, BC, residing on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish, Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (W̱SÁNEĆ), Te’mexw Treaty Association, and Lekwungen/Songhees peoples, with staff also working from Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. Rugby Canada business operations, programs and events are delivered nationwide, including the internationally recognized HSBC Canada Sevens annual tournaments.