This opening block has been glorious, and - bonus - educational. For those interested, here’s a little of what I’ve learned.
The match will see world number one and number two sides England and Canada go head to head with WXV silverware on the line this Saturday in Vancouver.
Tyson Beukeboom, who became Canada’s most-capped women’s player of all time during the Pacific Four Series, will reach a new milestone this weekend in WXV.
Six members of the Canada squad that secured a sevens silver medal at Paris 2024 will be part of the country’s push for WXV 1 glory on home soil.
Canada have claimed their first-ever win over the Black Ferns and the Pacific Four Series title under grey cloud on a cold afternoon in Christchurch with a historic 22-19 win.
England and Canada have announced their match day 23's for Friday evening's clash at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin in round 2 of WXV 1.
The six teams have been named ahead of the first round of WXV 1 in Wellington. All matches will be played at Sky Stadium, kicking off with England vs Australia on Friday 20th October. On Saturday 21st October Canada will face Wales before home side New Zealand take on France in a RWC2021 semi-final rematch.
The visitors had to play over an hour with 14 players after Gabrielle Senft was sent off.
By her own admission, Emily Tuttosi has had little time to ruminate on the heartache of a second successive Premier 15s final defeat. Her mind might be focused on the challenge of Test rugby in the Pacific Four Series this weekend, and the prospect of playing New Zealand in front of a record crowd in Ottawa, but that does not mean back-to-back final defeats have not left a mark.
Canada coach Kevin Rouet has made five personnel and two positional changes to his starting line-up for the third and final pool game of the World Cup against the USA at Waitakere Stadium on 23 October.
