Sophie de Goede says she still loses sleep over England's 33-13 2025 World Cup final win ahead of Exeter test
Canada captain Sophie de Goede says she still cannot sleep properly thinking about England's 33-13 victory in the 2025 World Cup final as she prepares to face the world champions at Sandy Park in Exeter on Saturday, 19 September at 15:00 BST. Nearly a year on from that final, De Goede told reporters she struggles to switch off ahead of the test match.
Canada arrive in Exeter ranked third in the world and head coach Kevin Rouet has cautioned against framing the fixture as revenge, saying: "Revenge is a good brand but they [England] won the final of the World Cup - that was the most important game to win, the next important games will be in the World Cup 2029." England's schedule for the autumn tour will see them play New Zealand at Allianz Stadium followed by two further tests against Canada in Toronto and Ottawa.
De Goede described the personal impact of the World Cup defeat, saying: "Four to five nights a week I can't fall asleep because I'm still thinking about the final," and she joked about Canada’s approach to the English domestic game: "It's not like we're coming in to spy," adding "We just don't have the quality league [in Canada]."
Canada's pathway places 25 players in England's domestic PWR competition as part of a development strategy, and the current Canada coaching staff includes Rouet and Alex Austerberry, who both coach Saracens Women, along with Nathan Smith from Loughborough Lightning. The use of PWR to develop Canadian internationals was outlined by sources within the programme ahead of the Exeter match.
England head coach John Mitchell described the sequence of tough opponents as an "audition" for the 2029 World Cup and spoke about logistical challenges, saying: "You look at the geography that we're going to cover, we're not always going to be in our training base. We're going to be going to different facilities. It's a challenge," and adding: "It's going to be really cool to see how they handle pressure as well. I think the Red Roses are very good around pressure because I think it reveals how much they care."
Mitchell and Charlie Hayter, head of women's performance at England Rugby, have lobbied to increase PWR playing time for English Qualified Players from next season, with Mitchell arguing players who can reach 1,000 PWR playing minutes a season "gives them a higher probability" of playing for the Red Roses. He said: "I haven't enjoyed seeing young English players between 21 and 23 not getting enough minutes," and added: "I think that number [1,000] is very meaningful." The RFU confirmed to BBC Sport that the current requirement around 13 EQP players on average across matchday squads will remain, and that from the 2027-28 season club injury credit will only apply for players who sustain an injury while on international duty for one of England's representative teams; additionally, any EQP player captured by another union will only be able to hold their EQP status until the end of that season.
England Women v Canada Women is scheduled for Saturday, 19 September at 15:00 BST at Sandy Park in Exeter, the next confirmed fixture for both sides on this autumn tour.
