Canada's match day roster named for Saturday's battle with the Black Ferns in Ottawa

Head Coach Kevin Rouet has named the match day roster for Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team’s meeting with the reigning World Champion New Zealand Black Ferns on Saturday July 8 at TD Place in Ottawa.  

Two players will rise up the ranks of all-time appearances for Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team when they start on Saturday. Olivia DeMerchant will play in her 55th cap, tying Maria Gallo for third all-time. DaLeaka Menin will tie Julia Sugawara for seventh all-time, earning her 46th cap. 

Florence Symonds will make her international 15s debut on the wing. Symonds first debuted for Hong Kong at age 17 before making Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team in 2021 as a 19-year-old. Fellow sevens player Olivia Apps could also earn her first cap off the bench, along with the University of Ottawa’s Claire Gallagher. 

With an expected crowd of over 7,500, July 8 is primed to be a record-setting day for women’s rugby in Canada. When Canada takes to the pitch against New Zealand at 7:00 p.m. ET, it will be in front of the largest crowd ever seen at an international women’s 15s match hosted in Canada. The match will also be broadcast on TSN4.    

“This is an important game in our preparation towards the 2025 Rugby World Cup,” said Rouet. “We are looking forward to putting on a performance this Saturday that both our team and Canada will be proud of.” 

The last time these two teams met was at the previous edition of the World Rugby Pacific Four Series in June 2022. New Zealand won the tournament, with Canada following in second with just one loss, a 28-0 game against the Black Ferns. 

Both teams started the 2023 Pacific Four Series earlier this year with strong wins. Canada won 50-17 over the USA on April 1 in Madrid, while New Zealand beat Australia 50-0 in Brisbane on June 29. New Zealand currently holds first place in the standings with a higher point differential than Canada.   

Qualification for the inaugural WXV, a new three-tier annual global women’s international 15s competition, is on the line, with the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series qualifying for the top WXV tier and the bottom team headed for tier 2. 

Tickets start at just $20 and can be purchased at rugby.ca/en/tickets. Questions regarding ticket purchases can be directed to tickets@rugby.ca.   

More information on the 2023 World Rugby Pacific Four Series can be found here.  

WHERE TO WATCH 

JULY 8 
Australia vs USA – 1:00 p.m. PT / 4:00 p.m. ET on TSN+ 
Canada vs New Zealand – 4:00 p.m. PT / 7:00 p.m. ET on TSN4 

JULY 14 
New Zealand vs USA – 1:00 p.m. PT / 4:00 p.m. ET on TSN+ 
Canada vs Australia – 4:00 p.m. PT / 7:00 p.m. ET on TSN1 

More information on TSN+, an all-new streaming service, can be found at tsn.ca/tsnplus.

CANADA’S WOMEN’S RUGBY TEAM MATCH DAY ROSTER vs NEW ZEALAND 

1. Olivia DeMerchant (Mapledale, NB) – Halifax Tars RFC  
2. Emily Tuttosi (Souris, MB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs  
3. Daleaka Menin (Vulcan, AB) – Exeter Chiefs 
4. Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, ON) – Cowichan RFC  
5. Courtney Holtkamp (Rimbey, AB) – Red Deer Titans Rugby  
6. Gabrielle Senft (Regina, SK) – Castaway Wanderers / Exeter Chiefs 
7. Fabiola Forteza (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais  
8. Sophie de Goede (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers RFC  
9. Justine Pelletier (Rivière-du-Loup, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais  
10. Julia Schell (Uxbridge, ON) – Guelph Redcoats / Castaway Wanderers 
11. Paige Farries (Red Deer, AB) – Westshore RFC / Worcester Warriors  
12. Sara Kaljuvee (Ajax, ON) – Toronto Scottish / Westshore RFC 
13. Fancy Bermudez (Edmonton, AB) – Nor’Wester Athletic Association / Westshore RFC 
14. Florence Symonds (Hong Kong) – University of British Columbia  
15. Sabrina Poulin (St-Georges, QC) – TMRRFC / Eibar Rugby Taldea  

FINISHERS 

16. Gillian Boag (Calgary, AB) – Capilano RFC 
17. McKinley Hunt (King City, ON) – Aurora Barbarians  
18. Alexandria Ellis (Ottawa, ON) – Barrhaven Scottish / Saracens  
19. Emma Taylor (Scotsburn, NS) – Halifax RFC  
20. Sara Svoboda (Belleville, ON) – Brantford Harlequins / Belleville Bulldogs / Loughborough Lightning 
21. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC 
22. Claire Gallagher (Caledon, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / University of Ottawa  
23. Shoshanah Seumanutafa (White Rock, BC) – University of British Columbia