21 U SPORTS athletes set to chase women’s rugby glory
The biggest match in Canadian women’s rugby history is set for Saturday, as Canada takes on England in the final of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, and 21 current and former U SPORTS athletes will be on the field wearing the Maple Leaf. 14 of the 15 Team Canada starters hail from U SPORTS, as do seven of the eight “finishers” for tomorrow’s contest.
Leading the U SPORTS contingent is Sophie de Goede (Queen’s), who was a two-time U SPORTS player of the year (2019, 2021) and was named a U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian for 2019-20. De Goede has led Canada in the RWC this year with 58 points on three tries, 20 conversions and a penalty goal. Two other U SPORTS players of the year are part of the World Cup squad: Fabiola Forteza (Laval), who won the award in 2019, and 2016 winner DaLeaka Menin (Calgary).
The Canadian squad has achieved a perfect 5-0 record at the competition and clinched their berth in the championship with a 34-19 win over New Zealand. The win over the defending champion Black Ferns assured Canada of matching its best-ever World Cup finish in 2014.
“This World Cup final will be an even bigger moment then the Olympic final for Canadian women's rugby,” said Jack Hanraty, who led Canada’s Sevens team to silver at the Paris Olympics in 2024, and is now the head coach of the Ottawa Gee-Gees squad. “[The Paris Olympics] was a big step for women's sport. It felt like it was a huge step forward for women's rugby, for sure, and you're still seeing the benefits of it. I think the Women's World Cup that's taking place right now with so many former and current U SPORTS athletes playing it. I think it's a continuation.”
Altogether, 29 of the 32 members of the Canadian World Cup squad are current or former U SPORTS athletes. UBC leads the way with five members on the team (Florence Symonds, Gillian Boag, Mikiela Nelson, Rachel Smith and Shoshanah Seumanutafa), while Laval has four (Forteza, Justine Pelletier, Karen Paquin, Sarah-Maude Lachance).
The representation is spread across the country, with 14 of the 27 U SPORTS women’s rugby programs having at least one representative on Team Canada.
The Team Canada coaching staff also contains a strong university contingent, led by head coach Kevin Rouet. The Frenchman was the head coach of the Laval Rouge et Or prior to joining Rugby Canada. Assistant coach Carolyn McEwen played and is now an assistant coach at UBC, David Butcher coaches the Queen’s men’s rugby program, Jocelyn Barrieau is the former head coach at Concordia, while Martial Lagain was head coach of the Sherbrooke men’s program from 2016-18.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, and can be seen on TSN 1, TSN 4, and CTV 2.
Buy your tickets for the upcoming 2025 U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship hosted by UBC from October 29 - November 2, 2025 here.
U SPORTS athletes on Team Canada 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup roster
Name Hometown U SPORTS School
Tyson Beukeboom^ Uxbridge, ON STFX
Gillian Boag^ Calgary, AB UBC
Alysha Corrigan* Charlottetown, PEI UPEI & Acadia
Sophie de Goede* Victoria, BC Queen’s
Olivia DeMerchant^ Mapledale, NB STFX
Paige Farries Red Deer, AB Western & Alberta
Fabiola Forteza* Quebec, QC Laval
Claire Gallagher Caledon, ON Ottawa
Asia Hogan-Rochester* Toronto, Ontario York
McKinley Hunt* King City, ON Queen’s
Brittany Kassil^ Guelph, ON Guelph
Sarah-Maude Lachance Victoriaville, QC Laval
DaLeaka Menin* Vulcan, AB Calgary
Maya Montiel Dieppe, NB Ottawa
Mikiela Nelson North Vancouver, BC UBC
Courtney O’Donnell* Rimbey, AB Alberta
Julia Omokhuale Calgary, AB Calgary
Karen Paquin* Quebec City, QC Laval
Justine Pelletier* Rivière-du-Loup, QC Laval
Laetitia Royer^ Loretteville, QC Concordia
Gabrielle Senft^ Regina, SK Victoria
Florence Symonds* Vancouver, BC UBC
Alexandra Tessier* Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QC Concordia
Emily Tuttosi* Souris, MB Calgary
Julia Schell* Uxbridge, ON Guelph
Shoshanah Seumanutafa^ White Rock, BC UBC
Rachel Smith South Surrey, BC UBC
Taylor McKnight Stouffville, ON Guelph
Taylor Perry* Oakville, ON Queen’s
Symbols denote status for Saturday’s game: * - starter, ^ - finisher
2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup staff
Name Role University
Kevin Rouet Head coach Laval
Carolyn McEwen Assistant Coach UBC
David Butcher Assistant Coach Queen’s
Jocelyn Barrieau Assistant Coach Concordia
Martial Lagain Assistant Coach Sherbrooke
Clarence Gay Strength & Conditioning Carleton
Allison Rodway Physiotherapist Victoria
Amelie Michaud Physiotherapist Sherbrooke
Team Canada players by U SPORTS school:
School Players
UBC 5
Laval 4
Guelph 3
Calgary 3
Queen’s 3
Alberta 2
Concordia 2
Ottawa 2
STFX 2
Acadia 1
UPEI 1
Victoria 1
Western 1
York 1