Alex Tessier: 'We're not a one-dimensional team anymore'

It's been a monumental year for women's rugby in Canada with the national team toppling world champions New Zealand for the first time in May en route to a maiden Pacific Four title.

In July, Canada was second to the Black Ferns Sevens at the Paris Olympics following a seismic upset of SVNS champions Australia in the semi-final.

This Saturday Canada hosts world number one England at BC Place in Vancouver. At stake: the WXV 1 title and the Red Roses ' 19-match winning streak.

England have won 32 of their 36 internationals against Canada, which last succeeded in this fixture in 2016. In that 52-17 victory in Utah, utility back Alex Tessier was present and warned Canada is a much better side than that of eight years ago.

“We're not a one-dimensional team anymore. We can play multiple ways quicker,” Tessier told RugbyPass.

“We've always had a good pool of athletes who combine other sports with a love of rugby. The biggest difference between this group and those of the past is that we can navigate quicker between structure and heads-up play. We're building layers of intelligence with more experience and better coaching.”

Canada has won six consecutive internationals, including their first WXV 1 matches against France 46-24 and Ireland 21-8. It's the best run of results Canada has enjoyed since Tessier played the first of her 53 tests in a 22-40 defeat to the Black Ferns in Calgary in 2015.

The victory against France a fortnight ago was the largest in that fixture since 1996. Fancy Bermudez and Laetitia Royer each scored two tries. Tessier booted four conversions and a penalty.

Last week, Ireland was foiled for the third time in four encounters with Canada scoring all their points in the first half - including three conversions by Tessier.

Tessier is the only Canadian player to have kicked points for Canada this season other than the injured Sophie de Goede. Canada only had to make 75 tackles against the French, and were the only team not to run into three figures. Canada’s seven tries came from 13 visits into Les Bleues’ 22.

“It was a convincing win for us and shows what we’re working on is coming together. In this tournament, we’re focusing on us. Yes, England have some great players and we respect them. We’ll do some study, but we're focussed on our plans and believe if we get that right, the result will look after itself.”

Greater trust and execution under pressure was evident in May when Canada stunned the Black Ferns 22-19 in Christchurch. It was Canada’s first victory in 18 tests against the World Champions. Tessier celebrated her 50th test.

“It was one of those games where we refused to compromise mentally and just kept working and pushing,” Tessier said.

“We knocked on the door early and got some profit. When they had these 30-phase attacks and didn’t score, it was like, ‘We’ve got this.’ Especially when we were able to get points at the opposite end.

“Winning Pac 4 is the highlight of my career. It was an amazing feeling that showed the heart and growth of the group.”

Canada’s 16 tries in the Pacific Four Series were scored by 10 different players with McKinley Hunt the top try-scorer with three. De Goede scored 33 of Canada’s 105 points, including 18 in the 50-7 win over USA in Los Angeles.

Canada finished runners-up to England in the inaugural WXV 1 in 2023 after two wins and a defeat. Canada beat Wales 42-22 before losing to England 45-12. They finished the tournament with a 29- 20 win over France. Tessier is the only player in the WXV 1 2024 squad to have played every minute of last year’s tournament.

The population of Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton in Quebec is just over a thousand. That wasn’t a barrier for Tessier who grew up a classy soccer and basketball player. She first played rugby at age 17 in Montreal during a break in her basketball training schedule and became hooked.

She was selected for the Canada U20s and was awarded full honours in 2015 against New Zealand in Calgary. Tessier attended the 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cup.

Additionally, Tessier was part of the Rugby Canada Maple Leaf Academy, which is a high-performance programme focused on developing national sevens’ players. She has two sevens caps to her name. Tessier believes Canada’s silver medal at the Olympics was “massive” as “accessibility” to rugby in Canada is tough outside of marquee events like the Olympics.

Canada’s Most Capped Internationals

Tyson Beukeboom, 70

Gillian Florence, 67

Olivia Demerchant, 58

Daleaka Menin, 56

Maria Gallo, 55

Kelly Russell, 53

Laura Russell, 53

Alex Tessier, 53

Elissa Alarie, 47

Julia Sugawara, 46