Canada lost to England in Paris for the first time since 2014 in their first World Cup final, which was a 21-9 loss.
Canada has won the Pacific Four Series twice in 2024, narrowly missing out on defending their title on points difference, and won silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Since the last World Cup in 2022, which ended in a narrow semi-final defeat to England, they have now won twice in the top three of the WXV1.
The Maple Leafs are vying for airtime against ice hockey, basketball, and football, but they are making a name for themselves this World Cup, with Canadian pop star Shania Twain wishing the team good luck on social media before their semi-final.
The Maple Leafs, who are not a fully professional side, have had to work hard to pay for their financial woes despite their wealth on the pitch.
The team also raised $ 530,000 through a Mission: Win Rugby World Cup fundraising drive in addition to the financial support they receive from Rugby Canada and World Rugby.
When McKenzie made her debut in 2004, she was forced to pay to play for Canada because it came too late to really fully benefit any World Cup build-up.
Therefore, everything that went into this has already been done. It has been anticipated for the previous years.
“They don’t have any money, but they have a ridiculous IQ,” they said.
“Head coach Rouet] has a very friendly manner toward the group. Additionally, the program is complex. There are many different languages used for negotiation. Different time zones and countries exist.
Because of how large the nation is, having a large central camp repeatedly unfeasible economically.
Numerous members of Canada’s squad still reside in North America and work from home. For instance, the Halifax fire department’s Prop Olivia DeMerchant works as a firefighter.
However, only about half of the squad, which includes former World Cup winner Sophie de Goede, captain Alex Tessier, and fly-half Taylor Perry, has signed with English Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) clubs.
Even if the strength of PWR may come back to haunt England on Saturday, according to Rugby Football Union (RFU) CEO Bill Sweeney, it is a good thing that the strength of PWR is supporting Canada’s players.
He claimed that “they’re getting the exposure to top-notch women’s rugby.” We all want the women’s game to get better and their composure to get better.
If other international players play there and that makes their union performance better, that’s great for the game.
McKenzie is confident that the final “will have an impact” and that Canada will have a significant chance to win the world title for the first time in terms of inspiring the next generation back home.