Red Roses’ four-year record gone – but good for women’s rugby?

Canada’s women snapped world champion England’s 41-match unbeaten run with a 24-21 victory in Toronto last Friday; last month, Canada also drew with England 26-26 in Exeter to halt the Red Roses' 39-Test winning run; Canada host England in Ottawa this Friday, October 23

November 12, 2022 - the date England's Red Roses last lost a Test match before suffering defeat to Canada in Toronto a week ago , four years on.

Between their galling 2022 Women's Rugby World Cup final defeat to New Zealand at Eden Park and last week, the Red Roses went 41 Tests unbeaten, winning 39 consecutive matches before a draw against Canada in Exeter last month.

England's dominance is even more stark when you take into account that before that 2022 defeat, they had gone on a 30-Test winning run between November 2019 and November 2022.

Before last week in Canada, therefore, England had won 70 of their previous 72 Test matches. Astonishing and remarkable in equal measure.

Some eight Six Nations titles have been won in a row, in near totally dominant fashion too between 2019 and 2026, while a third World Cup triumph to sit alongside 1994 and 2014 was finally clinched on home soil in 2025, after final defeats in 2017 and 2022.

And yet, such monumentally impressive dominance had placed England in a position where Six Nations contests were fast becoming a non-event, competition-wise.

While France and New Zealand had historically competed hard and alongside England at the top of the world game, and Ireland won Six Nations titles in 2013 and 2015, the Red Roses were now consistently blowing those sides away completely.

Canada's rise in recent years can only be a good thing for the sport, as is the apparent resurgence of New Zealand's Black Ferns. They were level with England at 19-19 at Twickenham last month and pushing for a late winner in the final play, only for the Red Roses to snatch victory themselves .

In 2023, England put 50 points and 45 points on Canada in one-sided Test wins. By the 2025 World Cup final at Twickenham, Canada were competitive until England proved too strong and pulled away to glory.

But a year on, Canada have drawn with England in Exeter and now fought back to beat them in Toronto from a position of 21-12 behind. Friday's third Test between the sides in Ottawa is now a genuinely compelling and tantalising prospect. That can only be seen as a good thing for women's rugby.

Red Roses head coach John Mitchell has borderline talked up a defeat for his side in recent months.

Indeed, it appears the 62-year-old anticipated this WXV Global Series block was going to prove testing for his side, and is now relishing the chance to hit back.

"Definitely [it is what England needed]," he said. "I think even before that message we said: 'Come and get us.'