Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Anna McGann scores Ireland's third try.Ben Brady/INPHO FreeUnhappy farewell Ireland fall to defeat to Canada in final World Cup warm-up game Late scoring rally takes the bad look off a poor day at Ravenhill for Scott Bemand’s side. 3.16pm, 9 Aug 2025 Share options DESPITE DELIVERING A spirited second half display at Affidea Stadium in Belfast this afternoon, Ireland suffered defeat at the hands of Canada in their second and final Women’s Rugby World Cup warm-up game. Trailing 40-7 with just 25 minutes remaining in the contest, Scott Bemand’s charges registered 19 points on the bounce to significantly lift the spirits of the Irish supporters that were in attendance at the home of Ulster Rugby. However, with Sophie de Goede bringing her personal tally up to 17 points in the closing moments, Canada emerged as comprehensive and deserved winners in the end. Following a 27-21 triumph over Scotland at Virgin Media Park in Cork last weekend, Ireland head coach Bemand made 10 changes to his starting line-up in advance of Monday’s official squad announcement for the World Cup in England – which begins for the Irish on 24 August with a Pool C opener against Japan at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton. Before coming back to ultimately earn the spoils, Ireland found themselves staring into an early 14-0 deficit against the Scots on the Leeside seven days ago. Although they enjoyed some initial possession when Beibhinn Parsons earned a penalty off Dannah O’Brien’s kick-off, Ireland subsequently trailed by the same margin with just 14 minutes on the clock. After outside centre Florence Symonds raced under the posts on 10 minutes after a relentless spell of attacking pressure, scrum-half Justine Pelletier broke away moments later for the visitors’ second try of the action (second row Sophie de Goede was on hand to slot over a brace of conversions). While these were ominous signs for Ireland, they did gain a temporary numerical advantage at the end of the opening quarter when Canada’s tighthead prop Daleaka Menin was sin-binned for a high tackle on Connacht flanker Ivana Kiripati. This was the cue for Ireland to establish some attacking momentum and when the ball was moved towards the right-flank on 20 minutes, Parsons regathered possession after initially being tackled by a retreating Canadian defender and proceeded to touch down in fine style. Beibhinn Parsons.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Ireland’s prospects were further bolstered when O’Brien confidently split the posts from the conversion that followed Parsons’ five-pointer, but this was as good as it got for the home team during the first half. Advertisement Even though Canada were forced to withdraw team captain Alexandra Tessier for a head injury assessment, a second converted try from Symonds ensured Kevin Rouet’s side had restored their 14-point cushion before Menin returned to the field of play. Her re-emergence coincided with Ireland’s starting captain Neve Jones being issued with a yellow card by match referee Aurélie Groizeleau and the Exeter Chiefs front-row offered further breathing space to the 2014 World Cup finalists by driving over for their fourth try on 33 minutes. Ireland were back to their full complement prior to the interval, but with another intricate Canadian attack in stoppage-time leading to a converted finish for winger Paige Farries on the left flank, they trailed by all of 26 points (33-7) at the break. There was certainly a greater energy to the Irish play when the action resumed, helped in no small way by the introduction of regular team skipper Sam Monaghan for her second international appearance since recovering from a long-term injury lay-off. However, Canada maintained a potent attacking threat – exemplified by full-back Julia Schell’s breakaway try 15 minutes into the second half. A fourth successful conversion from de Goede increased the gap between the teams, before Ireland finally hit a purple patch either of the third-quarter mark. The addition of further fresh legs (including former England prop Ellena Perry for her Ireland debut) aided their cause substantially, but it was starting winger Anna McGann who got on the end of an elaborate pass out wide by full-back Stacey Flood for her side’s second try on 59 minutes. Head coach Scott Bemand.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO McGann was becoming more prominent as the game progressed and the Westmeath native showcased her athleticism just three minutes later by sprinting through a gap in the Canada defence for an outstanding individual score. Having been denied a second successful conversion by the woodwork in the aftermath of McGann’s first try, O’Brien made no mistake on this occasion as Ireland started to operate with a greater degree of authority. The Canadian rearguard were now being placed under sustained pressure by their Irish counterparts and after the play was switched from one side to the other, Parsons was left with a relatively routine task of crossing over to the right of the posts for her second try on 71 minutes. O’Brien added the bonuses once again to reduce the gap to 14 points, but this was as close as Ireland came to claiming a dramatic comeback win. With Flood in the sin-bin following consultation between Groizeleau and TMO Andrew McMenemy, the excellent de Goede bagged a seven-point salvo in the final minute to ensure their opponents will depart for the World Cup on the back of a 21-point reversal. Scorers for Ireland: Tries – Beibhinn Parsons 2, Anna McGann 2 Conversions – Dannah O’Brien [3/4] Scorers for Canada: Tries – Florence Symonds 2, Justine Pelletier, Daleaka Menin, Paige Farries, Julia Schell, Sophie de Goede Conversions – Sophie de Goede [6/7] Ireland: Stacey Flood; Beibhinn Parsons, Aoife Dalton, Enya Breen (Eve Higgins ’52), Anna McGann; Dannah O’Brien, Aoibheann Reilly (Emily Lane ’66); Niamh O’Dowd (Ellena Perry ’56), Neve Jones (Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald ’56), Linda Djougang (Sadhbh McGrath ’71); Ruth Campbell (Eimear Corri Fallon ’66), Fiona Tuite; Grace Moore, Ivana Kiripati (Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald ’31-40 & Sam Monaghan half-time), Brittany Hogan (Claire Boles ’56). Canada: Julia Schell; Alysha Corrigan, Florence Symonds (Sarah-Maude Lachance ’68), Alexandra Tessier (Shoshanah Seumanutafa ’24), Paige Farries (Olivia Demerchant ’26-30); Claire Gallagher, Justine Pelletier (Olivia Apps ’56); McKinley Hunt (Brittany Kassil ’52), Gillian Boag (Emily Tuttosi ’52), Daleaka Menin (Olivia Demerchant half-time); Sophie de Goede, Tyson Beukeboom; Karen Paquin (Pamphinette Buisa ’56) (Courtney O’Donnell ’60)), Caroline Crossley, Fabiola Forteza. Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (France). Daire Walsh View 5 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Ireland fall to defeat to Canada in final World Cup warm-up game”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Ireland fall to defeat to Canada in final World Cup warm-up game”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... 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