Six BC athletes are headed to England for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup after Canada’s Senior Women’s 32-player squad was named by Head Coach Kevin Rouet.

Congratulations to Caroline Crossley (Victoria – Castaway Wanderers),  Mikiela Nelson (North Vancouver – Capilano RFC), Rachel Smith (South Surrey – UBC Thunderbirds), Sophie de Goede (Victoria – Castaway Wanderers), Florence Symonds (Vancouver – UBC Thunderbirds) and Shoshanah Seumanutafa (White Rock – Counties Manukau) on their call-ups!

BC will be well represented on the plane with Capilano RFC’s Gillian Boag, Cowichan RFC’s Tyson Beukeboom, Westshore RFC duo Asia Hogan-Rochester and Fancy Bermudez, and Castaway Wanderers RFC’s Julia Schell making the squad.

“We believe in the group we have selected and we believe in the process we have taken to get to this point, but the work isn’t done yet,” said Rouet. “It all starts next month in England when we enter the next stage of our World Cup journey and officially get on the field in that first match against Fiji.”

Captain of the team in England will be 2024 World Rugby Player of the Year nominee, Alexandra Tessier. She has earned 59 caps for Canada, scoring six tries and 53 points over her ten-year international career that includes representing Canada at the Rugby World Cup in 2017 and 2021 (played in 2022).

Twenty-one players return from the 2021 Rugby World Cup team including veterans Beukeboom, Olivia DeMerchant and Karen Paquin who will all represent World No. 2-ranked Canada at the Rugby World Cup for a fourth time.

Sophie de Goede, named to the 2022 and 2024 World Rugby Women’s Dream Team, will compete in her second Rugby World Cup. De Goede made her long-awaited return to the Canadian lineup earlier this month in South Africa, her first time back on the field in over a year following a significant knee injury.

Canada’s leading try-scorer at the last World Cup with six, Emily Tuttosi, will play in her second Rugby World Cup. Tuttosi’s performance earned her a spot on the 2022 World Rugby Dream Team of the Year.

With Rugby Canada’s “One Squad” philosophy on full display, six players who won a silver medal with Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics have been selected; Caroline Crossley, Fancy Bermudez, Florence Symonds, Olivia Apps, Asia Hogan-Rochester and Taylor Perry.

The 2025 Rugby World Cup will be the first for 11 players including Rachel Smith, Taylor McKnight, Claire Gallagher, Shoshanah Seumanutafa, Laetitia Royer and Maya Montiel.

“Selecting the World Cup squad forced the coaching staff to make some very difficult decisions,” added Rouet. “Since the last World Cup, our focus has been on building depth in the squad, so we had more than just 32 players who could step on the field and perform at any moment. We achieved our goal but as a result it meant needing to make some very challenging decisions.”

Prior to the team departing, Canada will compete in its final home match at TD Place in Ottawa on Friday, August 1 vs USA. The match aims to surpass a new attendance record for a women’s rugby match in North America that was previously set at the stadium in 2023.

At the Rugby World Cup in England, Canada will compete in Pool B alongside Scotland, Wales and Fiji. Their first match will be against Fiji at the York Community Stadium in York on Saturday, August 23 at 9:30am PT / 12:30pm ET (5:30pm local time). Click here for the full Pool B schedule.

All of Canada’s Rugby World Cup matches will be available live on TSN and TSN+. Earlier this year Rugby Canada and TSN announced a long-term agreement bringing increased coverage in 2025 and beyond for rugby fans in Canada.