CANADA’S MATCH DAY ROSTER SET FOR WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP OPENER AGAINST FIJI

Thursday, August 21, 2025 (York, England) — The match day roster for Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team has been selected by Head Coach Kevin Rouet for the opening game of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.  

Canada will face Fiji on Saturday, August 23 at 5:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. PST / 12:30 p.m. EST) at York Community Stadium in York, England. The game will be broadcast live on TSN and TSN+. 

“The team has put in a lot of work to get to this point,” said Rouet. “We have been building really since the last World Cup so we are very excited to get going here in England. Fiji will be a fun team to play against. They are unpredictable so they will test us on the pitch but it’s on us to showcase our style of play and display why we are one of the best teams in the world.”  

Taylor Perry has been selected to start at fly-half to kick off the tournament. Perry was due to wear the number ten jersey for the opening game of the last Rugby World Cup but was ruled out of the entire competition due to an injury suffered on the eve of the first game.  

Included among the finishers on the match day roster is Rachel Smith of the UBC Thunderbirds, who earned her first cap for Canada in May against the USA and is now in line to make her Rugby World Cup debut. 

Canada will begin the Rugby World Cup with an average of 29 caps per player. Leading the squad is Tyson Beukeboom, the most-capped player in Canadian women's rugby history, with 78 appearances.  

WHERE TO WATCH   
Canada’s Rugby World Cup against Fiji on August 23 will kick off at 5:30pm local time (9:30am PST / 12:30pm EST) and will be available on TSN1, TSN5 and TSN+. All of Canada’s games at the Rugby World Cup will be broadcast live, along with bonus coverage of select non-Canada matches throughout the tournament. 

2025 WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP 
At the Rugby World Cup in England, Canada will compete in Pool B alongside Scotland, Wales and Fiji. Their second game of pool play will be against Wales at the Salford Community Stadium in Manchester, England on Saturday, August 30 at 4:00am PT / 7:00am ET (12:00pm local time). Click here for the full Pool B schedule.  

Earlier this week it was revealed the Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham next month is sold out with 82,000 fans, making it the most attended women’s rugby union match ever. Over 375,000 tickets have been sold across all matches so far — three times more than the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand. 

CANADA’S WOMEN’S RUGBY TEAM MATCH DAY ROSTER VS FIJI 
1. Brittany Kassil (Guelph, ON) – Guelph Goats (47 caps) 
2. Gillian Boag (Calgary, AB) – Capilano RFC (33 caps) 
3. Olivia DeMerchant (Mapledale, NB) - Halifax Tars RFC (61 caps) 
4. Sophie de Goede (Victoria, BC) - Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (35 caps) 
5. Courtney O'Donnell (Rimbey, AB) – Red Deer Titans Rugby (47 caps) 
6. Caroline Crossley (Victoria, BC) - Castaway Wanderers (7 caps) 
7. Fabiola Forteza (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (35 caps) 
8. Gabrielle Senft (Regina, SK) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (34 caps) 
9. Justine Pelletier (Rivière-du-Loup, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (37 caps) 
10. Taylor Perry (Oakville, ON) - Oakville Crusaders / Exeter Chiefs (17 caps) 
11. Fancy Bermudez (Edmonton, AB) – Nor’Westers Athletic Association / Westshore RFC / Saracens (18 caps) 
12. Alexandra Tessier (Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC) – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC / Exeter Chiefs (60 caps) 
13. Florence Symonds (Vancouver, BC) - University of British Columbia (12 caps) 
14. Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) - CRFC / Saracens (21 caps) 
15. Julia Schell (Uxbridge, ON) – Guelph Goats / Castaway Wanderers / Ealing Trailfinders (26 caps) 
 
FINISHERS  
16. Emily Tuttosi (Souris, MB) - Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (35 caps) 
17. McKinley Hunt (King City, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Saracens (32 caps) 
18. DaLeaka Menin (Vulcan, AB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (63 caps) 
19. Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, ON) – Cowichan Piggies / Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders (78 caps) 
20. Karen Paquin (Quebec City, QC) - Club de rugby de Quebec (45 caps) 
21. Rachel Smith (South Surrey, BC) – University of British Columbia (3 caps) 
22. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC (19 caps) 
23. Shoshanah Seumanutafa (White Rock, BC) – Counties Manukau (19 caps) 
 
MISSION: WIN RUGBY WORLD CUP
In March 2025, Rugby Canada officially launched the Mission: Win Rugby World Cup (MWRWC) 2025 fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $1,000,000. Despite rising to the second world ranking, the Canadian women’s rugby team operates on a fractional budget compared to its closest competitors. This $1 million gap was identified to best equip the team with extra resources to help them make history.  
 
The mission is now within reach: over 95% of the fundraising goal has been pledged through generous individual donations and crowd funding. Rugby Canada extends its deep appreciation to all MWRWC supporters. For more information or to donate, visit rugby.ca/donate.