Canada Storm Past Wales 42-0 to Stay Perfect at Rugby World Cup

Saturday, August 30, 2025 (Manchester, England) — Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team underlined their status as contenders at the 2025 Rugby World Cup with a 42-0 victory over Wales on Saturday at Salford Community Stadium in Manchester. The win — built on six tries and a clinical defensive display — secured a second consecutive bonus-point result for the world’s second-ranked side along with locking up their place in the quarterfinals.  

Canada entered the match holding a dominant 10-2-2 all-time record over Wales, including seven straight wins since 2006. Wales, ranked 10th, began with a long spell of pressure inside Canada’s 22, but the Canadians absorbed the attack and held their opposition from crossing the try line.  

Prop McKinley Hunt set the tone with two close-range tries in the first half (16’, 29’), while Alysha Corrigan (26’) finished a slick 12-phase move and Asia Hogan-Rochester (31’) capped her Rugby World Cup debut with a 60-metre solo effort for the bonus point. 

By halftime Canada led 28-0, powered bytheir execution in the red zone and gain-line presence. Fly-half Taylor Perry darted over in the 50th minute to extend the lead before replacement prop Brittany Kassil added her name to the scoresheet five minutes later.  

Sophie de Goede was perfect from the tee throughout the afternoon, slotting all six conversions, and added 20 carries, 62 metres, and 11 tackles which earned her Mastercard Player of the Match honours. 

Canada’s dominance was reflected in the numbers: 796 metres carried to Wales’ 212, 22 defenders beaten to four, and 15 offloads to three. The set piece was equally assured, with a 100% scrum success rate and 88% at the lineout. 

The match saw lock Tyson Beukeboom — already the most-capped Canadian women’s player — make her 80th appearance for Canada, drawing her level with former men’s player Aaron Carpenter as the most-capped Canadian rugby player in history. 

Hogan-Rochester finished with a game-high 154 metres on five line breaks — the most by any player in a Rugby World Cup 2025 match so far. 

Head Coach Kevin Rouet acknowledged his side's imperfections but welcomed the clinical edge: 
“[If you would have offered us] 42 points before the game, we would have signed up for that. We had some brilliant moments today. If we refine our turnovers — 27 is way too many for a single game — imagine what we can do going forward.” 

Captain Alex Tessier echoed the sentiment: 
“It was not our best performance, but we got the job done. We forced a lot of turnovers and handling errors, so that’s what we’ll look to fix. When we keep the ball, our style is exciting and we can score tries back-to-back — that’s key for us.” 

Sophie de Goede, meanwhile, highlighted her pride in how the team weathered Wales’ spirited start: 
“Wales came out with a lot of fire, as we knew they would. Big respect to them, and I’m really proud of our girls for weathering it. It feels great to get this result, but the job’s not done. We have another massive match against Scotland to set us up well in the quarterfinal.” 

CANADA SCORING SUMMARY  
Tries: McKinley Hunt (16', 29'), Alysha Corrigan (26'), Asia Hogan-Rochester (31'), Taylor Perry (50'), Brittany Kassil (55’) 
Conversions: Sophie de Goede (6) 

UP NEXT FOR CANADA  
Canada’s final game of pool play will be against Scotland at Sandy Park in Exeter, England on Saturday, September 6 at 4:00am PT / 7:00am ET (12:00pm local time). Click here for the full Pool B schedule.   

CANADA’S WOMEN’S RUGBY TEAM MATCH DAY ROSTER VS WALES  
1. McKinley Hunt (King City, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Saracens (33 caps)  
2. Emily Tuttosi (Souris, MB) - Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (36 caps)  
3. DaLeaka Menin (Vulcan, AB) – Calgary Hornets / Exeter Chiefs (64 caps)  
4. Sophie de Goede (Victoria, BC) - Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (36 caps)  
5. Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, ON) – Cowichan Piggies / Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders (79 caps)  
6. Caroline Crossley (Victoria, BC) - Castaway Wanderers (8 caps)  
7. Karen Paquin (Quebec City, QC) - Club de rugby de Quebec (46 caps)  
8. Gabrielle Senft (Regina, SK) – Castaway Wanderers / Saracens (35 caps)  
9. Justine Pelletier (Rivière-du-Loup, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (38 caps)  
10. Taylor Perry (Oakville, ON) - Oakville Crusaders / Exeter Chiefs (18 caps)  
11. Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON) - Toronto Nomads / Westshore RFC (3 caps)   
12. Alexandra Tessier (Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC) – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC / Exeter Chiefs (61 caps)  
13. Florence Symonds (Vancouver, BC) - University of British Columbia (13 caps)  
14. Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) - CRFC / Saracens (22 caps)  
15. Julia Schell (Uxbridge, ON) – Guelph Goats / Castaway Wanderers / Ealing Trailfinders (27 caps)  
 
FINISHERS   
16. Gillian Boag (Calgary, AB) – Capilano RFC (34 caps)  
17. Brittany Kassil (Guelph, ON) – Guelph Goats (48 caps)    
18. Olivia DeMerchant (Mapledale, NB) - Halifax Tars RFC (61 caps)    
19. Courtney O'Donnell (Rimbey, AB) – Red Deer Titans Rugby (48 caps)    
20. Fabiola Forteza (Quebec City, QC) – Club de rugby de Québec / Stade Bordelais (36 caps)  
21. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC (20 caps)  
22. Claire Gallagher (Caledon, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Ealing Trailfinders (18 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.