Canada rewrite the record book

Both teams were being far from experimental having selected experienced teams. There were only three players making their debuts in the 30 that started, and England in particular were fielding a team with a combined total of over 600 caps.

But on Canada’s national day it was the Canadians who burst out of the blocks, scoring five unanswered tries in the first half, going in 39-0. They went ahead almost from the start when after just three minutes Emily Belchos broke the line, found Alex Tessier who then offloaded to scrum-half Chelsea Guthrie to score. With Andrea Burk converting – and then adding a penalty six minutes later – England were 10-0 down with less than 10 minutes on the clock.

Canada were fielding two debutants in their opening XV, and it was one of these - Frédérique Rajotte’s – who set up the next score, her break setting up Barbara Mervin for Canada’s second test try.

Canada continued to score at the rate of a point per minute with a close-range effort from Mary-Jane Kirby taking the score to 24-0 before Emily Belchos added a fourth on the half-hour, and finally Alex Tessier broke the England line again to set up Julianne Zussman for the fifth try just before half-time.

If England had been hoping to regroup over the break there was little sign as the second half began with a sixth Canadian try, also from Zussman. The scoreboard read 44-0 after 45 minutes and a worst-ever England defeat looked very possible.

But now England finally found their form. First on 52 minutes Katie Mason showed her poacher’s instincts after being set up by a Sarah Hunter pick-and-go from the back of the scrum, followed five minutes later by England’s debutant Millie Wood crossing the line for a debut try.

With the benches now being called upon, not to mention the heat of the day having an effect, the match reduced in intensity but on 74 minutes Bianca Blackburn scored a brilliant individual try to pull the score back to 44-17.

Despite this Canada were to have the final word, quick ball from Brittany Waters finding Katie McNally to take Canada past the half-century and end the game with a triumphant 52-17 Canada Day win.

"It's a really strong start to our campaign," said Canada’s interim Coach Shaun Allen. "Our group is really happy to put in this performance on Canada Day. It was great to go out, score points, defend well, and we can now really build for the rest of the tournament. I think we had really good spacing and really good work from our tight to five clear rucks, maintain possession and then our backs did a really quality job when they found space."

"I'm so proud of the girls," captain Laura Russell said. "Everyone did their job. We had a great start to the tournament. It sets the tone for the rest of the way but to start on this note allows us to keep building from here."

"We're so excited to start this tournament with a win," Player of the Match Jacey Murphy said. "We all came into this game with specific goals for our units. We've still got two more big games left but we're excited."

England coach Scott Bemand said: “We came up against a very strong Canada side today with some outstanding athletes. We didn’t adapt to the environment well enough to be competitive. The Canadians played with a physicality and intensity that we didn’t match at the start of the game. There were some positives from today. Alex Mathews on her return to the squad from sevens made a huge impact of the bench, earning herself player of the match after just 35 mins on the pitch and Millie Wood celebrated her first cap with a try.

"We are disappointed but we have four days to regroup and to put this right. We have some exciting games to come, not least against France who we know we well but it’s always good to play."

The match was only Canada’s third win in 24 games against England, and by far their largest triumph, eclipsing their previous best 27-13 win in Colorado in 2013. For England, this was the third worst defeat in their history, their worst loss to any team other than New Zealand, and only the second time they had ever conceded over 50 points in a game.

CANADA: 1. Carolyn McEwen (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club), Vancouver, BC; 2. Mary-Jane Kirby (Highland RFC) Brampton, ON; 3. DaLeaka Menin (Hornets) Vulcan, AB; 4. Laura Russell captain (Toronto Nomads) Bolton, ON; 5. Kayla Mack (Wild Oats) Saskatoon, SK; 6. Barbara Mervin (Velox RFC) Peterborough, ON; 7. Latoya Blackwood (St. Anne de Bellevue/Toulouse) Montreal, QC; 8. Jacey Murphy (Aurora Barbarians) Alliston, ON; 9. Chelsea Guthrie (Stratchona Druids) Edmonton, AB; 10. Emily Belchos (Markham Irish) Barrie, ON; 11. Frédérique Rajotte (Sainte Anne de Bellevue RFC) Sainte Anne de Bellevue, QC; 12. Andrea Burk (Capilano RFC) North Vancouver, BC; 13. Alex Tessier (Montreal Barbarians) Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QB; 14. Brittany Waters (Castaway Wanderers) Vancouver, BC; 15. Julianne Zussman (Castaway Wanderers) Montreal, QC

16. Demi Stamatakis (SFU) Vancouver, BC; 17. Olivia DeMerchant (Woodstock Wildmen) Mapledale, NB; 18. Tyson Beukeboom (Aurora Barbarians) Uxbridge, ON; 19. Fabiola Forteza (Club de Rugby de Quebec) Quebec, QC; 20. Katie Svoboda (Belleville Bulldogs) Belleville, ON; 21. Brianna Miller (SABRFC), Pointe-Claire, QC; 22. Anais Holly (TMRRFC) Montreal, QC; 23. Katie McNally (Castaway Wanderers) Guelph, ON

ENGLAND: 1. Rochelle Clark (Worcester) (110 caps); 2. Amy Cokayne (Lichfield) (13 caps); 3. Victoria Cornborough (Richmond) (14 caps); 4. Courtney Gill (Worcester) (1 cap); 5. Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park) (91 caps); 6. Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield) (31 caps); 7. Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol) (17 caps); 8. Sarah Hunter (Bristol) (78 caps) (c); 9. La Toya Mason (Darlington Mowden Park) (54 caps); 10. Amber Reed (Bristol) (29 caps); 11. Lotte Clapp (Saracens) (7 caps); 12. Ceri Large (Worcester) (47 caps); 13. Millie Wood (Lichfield) (uncapped); 14. Lydia Thompson (Worcester) (22 caps); 15. Katie Mason (Bristol) (10 caps)

16. Lark Davies (Worcester) (1 cap); 17. Heather Kerr (Darlington Mowden Park) (6 caps); 18. Laura Keates (Worcester) (49 caps); 19. Alex Matthews (Richmond) (21 caps); 20. Poppy Leitch (Bristol) (3 caps); 21. Bianca Blackburn (Worcester) (13 caps); 22. Lauren Cattell (Saracens) (18 caps); 23. Fiona Pocock (Richmond) (26 caps)