British ColumbiaTeam Canada faces off against England in the women’s Rugby World Cup final Saturday morning. Many of Team Canada’s players are either from B.C., or played on teams in the province.Team Canada has several players from B.C., where interest in the sport is growingKathryn Marlow · CBC News · Posted: Sep 27, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours agoCanada’s Taylor Perry, right, celebrates with Florence Symonds during a match at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in August. Symonds is one of the team’s B.C. players. (Dave Shopland/The Associated Press)Fans will be gathering across B.C. Saturday morning to cheer as Canada competes in the final of the Rugby World Cup. Team Canada, which is facing off against England, has strong ties to B.C.’s south coast, with four players listing B.C. cities as their hometowns. Even more have played for two local clubs: Victoria’s Castaway Wanderers and University of British Columbia’s Thunderbirds in Vancouver. Players Sophie de Goede and Caroline Crossley are from Victoria, Florence Symonds is from Vancouver and Shoshanah Seumanutafa is from White Rock.WATCH | Canadian Rugby team takes on England: Canada faces England in unexpected Rugby World Cup finalIt’s a true David versus Goliath battle in the final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup. An upstart Canadian team that’s defied expectations takes on England, which is undefeated. Canadian rugby sevens athlete Carissa Norsten breaks down what Canada needs to do to beat England.Kerri Cook, president of the Castaway Wanderers Rugby Club — which has over 300 players ranging in age from six to adult — said they’re seeing a growing interest in the sport, in part because of the camaraderie people witness when they see games on TV. “At the end of the game … two teams who have just fought it out on the field are dancing, singing, trading bracelets,” Cook said.”I feel like females want to go somewhere where they can fit in and have a great culture and have the social side as well, and that’s a huge draw.”Team Canada rugby player Sophie de Goede, with her parents Stephanie White and Hans de Goede. (Submitted )But seeing Canada win excites people too.Cook said it helps that Canada’s Rugby 7s team, which won silver at the Paris Olympics last year, is based in Victoria.Not a Cinderella story International press has characterized Canada’s place in the finals as a Cinderella story, after it beat frequent champion New Zealand in the semi-finals. But people who have been paying attention say it’s been anything but that, seeing as Canada is ranked number two in the world. “I don’t know why people are surprised that we’re in a World Cup final when we’ve been number two for over a year,” said Robin MacDowell, a former player and rugby coach based on Vancouver Island. “We’ve got a lot of hardened warriors in that team that know how to win,” MacDowell said. Stephanie White, who co-captained Team Canada at the first women’s rugby world cup in 1991, says it will be tough to beat England, but doable. WATCH | Shoshanah Seumanutafa’s family speaks to CBC News: Hear how one Canadian rugby player started her journey to the World CupPose Seumanutafa, father of Canadian rugby player Shoshanah Seumanutafa, talks about his daughter’s start in rugby — and the drive, sacrifice and fundraising it took for the team to get to the Rugby World Cup final.Her daughter, Sophie de Goede, is on this year’s team, and was recently nominated as one of the best players in the world.”If they can pull off a victory, it’s going to be a huge story,” she said. Win or not, she said it’s been great to see so many people get excited about the game. ABOUT THE AUTHORKathryn Marlow is a reporter for CBC Victoria, and the host/producer of the podcast This is Vancouver Island. She covers stories in greater Victoria, and across the whole Vancouver Island region. You can reach her at kathryn.marlow@cbc.ca. With files from On the Island and All Points West
B.C. rugby fans watch closely as Team Canada plays in World Cup final
