Canada brought an end to England's 41-match unbeaten streak on Saturday, securing a dramatic 24-21 victory in Toronto after substitute Shoshanah Seumanutafa crossed for a decisive try three minutes from time.
The defeat was England's first since losing the World Cup final to New Zealand in November 2022, and marked their first loss under head coach John Mitchell since his appointment in late 2023. It was also the Red Roses' first-ever loss on Canadian soil after 11 previous away victories, and their first loss to Canada anywhere since 2016.
A crowd of 18,621 supporters attended the clash, setting an attendance record for a standalone women's fixture in North America. Savannah Bauder gave Canada the lead in the 15th minute while England fly-half Zoe Harrison was serving a yellow card, but late first-half tries from Maddie Feaunati and Harrison pushed England into a 14-5 advantage while Canada's Laetitia Royer was in the sin-bin.
Alysha Corrigan replied for Canada early in the second half, but Sarah Bern cancelled it out to preserve England's nine-point cushion. Canada kept up the pressure, with DaLeaka Menin crossing for a converted score after the hour mark before Seumanutafa capitalised on a mishandled delivery and hurried clearance to sprint down the left wing for the match-winning score.
"We're not driven by outcome. We're disappointed by the result but there was some very good things in our performance. So we'll stick to our processes," Mitchell said following the defeat.
England captain Meg Jones called for composure, telling her squad to "stick together, look out for each other, and we go again."
Canada had previously ended England's 39-match winning streak with a 26-26 draw in Exeter in September. The two teams will meet once more in Ottawa on 23 October, before England finish their 2026 WXV Global Series schedule against the United States in New Jersey on 30 October.
