Usually in big sporting events the top two seeds rarely advance to the finals.
That’s not the case at this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.
The host, and No. 1, English squad is taking on second seeded Canada Saturday at 11 am EST.
England has won 32 straight matches, and their win streak over the Canadians currently sits at 13, but yet many feel the time is right for Canada to score the upset.
That includes former Team Canada player and Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Famer Tabi Horley (Stavrou) who has travelled to England to take in the final.
“Canada is so talented, the country is behind them right now, and there is this big hype with rugby in Canada,” said Horley, who has appeared in close to 20 matches for Canada.
It just seems (right now) that Canada just beats people by finding their weakness and picking that apart.”
That being said, it won’t be easy as in the 32 years since their first game against Canada, the Red Roses are 33-3-1 and have outscored Canada 1,192 to 432 in the contests. Canada has lost 13 straight games against England, with their last win coming in 2016.
The good news, Canada is on a run of their own, undefeated in 2025 and outscoring opponents to the tune of 497 to 159 over the 12 matches.
“They’re not necessarily a team that you say that they’re forwards are really strong, or their backs are really strong, they’re just so versatile and so dynamic,” Horley said.
For those that have never watched rugby, Horley offered these tips when tuning in.
“Just watch for the ball movement to see how Canada really uses all 15 players on the field. Watch for number four and number 15. It’s not a superstar based team, every player makes an impact.”
Horley couldn’t be more excited to be making the trip overseas. In fact, it was a last minute decision.
“We were watching the semi-final game, and my husband all of sudden booked me a flight.
I’m staying with a former athlete that I coached at Ridley for a night, we all kind of just found each other and I can’t wait”
And neither can the Canadian players who will have the chance to etch their names in the record books and win the country’s first-ever Women’s Rugby World Cup.
A record 82,000 fans will take in the game live from a sold out Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
