England's Red Roses last lost a Test match on November 12, 2022, when they fell to Canada in Toronto a week ago, a 24-21 defeat that ended a 41-match unbeaten run. Between their heartbreaking 2022 Women's Rugby World Cup final defeat to New Zealand at Eden Park and last week, the Red Roses won 39 consecutive matches before a draw against Canada in Exeter last month.
England's dominance is even more striking when you consider that before that 2022 defeat, they had won 30 Tests in a row between November 2019 and November 2022. Before last week in Canada, England had won 70 of their previous 72 Test matches. Astonishing and remarkable in equal measure.
Eight Six Nations titles have been won in a row, in near totally dominant fashion, between 2019 and 2026, while a third World Cup triumph, alongside 1994 and 2014, was clinched on home soil in 2025, after final defeats in 2017 and 2022. Yet such monumental dominance had made Six Nations contests fast becoming a non-event, competition-wise.
Canada's rise can only be a good thing for the sport, as can the apparent resurgence of New Zealand's Black Ferns, who were level with England at 19-19 at Twickenham last month before the Red Roses snatched victory. Canada, who drew with England in Exeter and then fought back to beat them in Toronto from 21-12 down, now face England in Ottawa on Friday in a genuinely compelling prospect. That can only be seen as a good thing for women's rugby.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing