Lizzie Gibson remembers exactly where she was when Canada played in the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup final. In a Kingston, Ontario, pub with her Queen’s University teammates and their families.

That afternoon, the Gaels beat the Western Mustangs 80-3 at Nixon Field. Gibson scored 20 points.

Seven months later, Gibson made her Test debut for Canada against the Black Ferns in the Pacific Four Series, after a stint in New Zealand, where she studied at the University of Otago, played for the Alhambra Broncos and trained with Farah Palmer Cup side the Otago Spirit.

Her first two appearances, against New Zealand and the USA Women’s Eagles, amounted to just 31 minutes on the pitch. By the time the WXV Global Series rolled around in September, Gibson was installed as a starter. She has scored four tries so far this autumn and played 54 minutes against the Red Roses as Canada ended the world champions’ 41-match unbeaten run in Toronto.

“I’ve basically wanted to make this team since I started playing rugby,” Gibson told RugbyPass. “A few years in, I realised it could be a practical goal.

“I was super-athletic growing up. I played hockey and soccer my whole life. In high school, you were only allowed to play one sport per season, so I played three in total. I tried to fill every season with something. By the end of Grade 12, I was playing five sports – rowing in the morning, rugby at night, sevens, flag football and hockey.

“I decided to move to New Zealand in January to do an exchange programme for school, but also to play rugby and do something different. I wasn’t eligible for university rugby [she had already played U Sports for five years], and I knew I wanted to play consistently and do something different.

“It was a bit scary because I wasn’t going to be playing provincial rugby [in Canada], which I knew Kévin [Rouet, Canada head coach] would be looking at for selection. I knew I needed something different for my development as a player.

“It was definitely the best thing for me. Then I got the call sometime in March about making the Pacific Four [Series]. I was so ecstatic. I really didn’t expect it. I was with my girlfriend in New Zealand when it happened, and we were both crying at the computer. Then I told my mum, and she was crying.”

At Queen’s, Gibson had already established herself as an outstanding talent. During her five years with the Gaels, she was a standout performer and the record points scorer in U Sports competition, with 571 points.

She also leads the competition for conversions, with 179. Yes, Canada have another forward who can goal-kick. Gibson even owns one of Sophie de Goede’s bespoke kicking tees, courtesy of the 2025 World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year.

Getting to call the likes of De Goede, Laetitia Royer and the rest of the Canadian squad her teammates is still taking some getting used to for Gibson. Her performances have also seen her earn a starting role ahead of established options such as Fabiola Forteza and Pamphinette Buisa.

“2026 has been a pinch-me year,” Gibson said. “If you’d told me last year I’d be sitting here with six caps and starting every game at WXV, I wouldn’t have wanted to believe you. I was in such a different place.

“I was at university, spending all my time watching this team play at the World Cup and yelling at my TV screen. This group is so special, and I think everyone will see that in the Crave documentary [ALL HEART: A RUGBY STORY]. They have such a special connection. You see it through the TV when you’re watching them play.

“Being part of it is unreal – getting to play with this team and making my dreams come true is amazing. But being part of this group is a pinch-me moment in itself. I’ve just never been on a team that feels this supportive.”

Gibson has been named to start her fifth consecutive game in the WXV Global Series as Canada prepare to host the Red Roses at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa.

The hosts will look to beat England for the second consecutive time for the first time since the 2013 Nations Cup in Colorado. Head coach Kévin Rouet has made several changes to his squad, including Shoshanah Seumanutafa starting at inside centre just one week after her match-winning performance against England.

Taylor Perry moves back to fly-half, while Gabrielle Senft joins Gibson and Julia Omokhuale in the back row. Friday’s fixture will decide the best-of-three series between the two nations, who drew in September before Canada’s victory last time out.

John Mitchell’s England have also made several changes to their starting XV. Ellie Kildunne moves to the bench, with Emma Sing taking her place, while Claudia Moloney-MacDonald drops out of the squad in favour of Mia Venner. Sadia Kabeya starts in the back row alongside Abi Burton and Maddie Feaunati.

England will have another WXV Global Series match against the USA to come next week. For Canada, however, this is their final game of 2026. One last home fixture offers the North Americans an opportunity to finish the year on a high as preparations for the 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cup cycle begin to gather pace.

It will also give Gibson another opportunity to stamp her authority on the international game. Whether through her ball-carrying or defensive work, she has made a lasting impression in Test rugby this year and has developed rapidly in the process.

“I didn’t even make the roster for the Australia game at Pacific Four,” Gibson said. “To go from that to where I am now, I just wasn’t playing my best rugby at the time. I think part of it was being so new to the environment. You want to perform. Your mind wants to do things that your body can’t always follow.

“Whether I am coming off the bench or starting, [it] means so much. It means a lot that the coach trusts me and the team trusts me to do my job. My role has evolved because I have more time on the field and more confidence that I can do the things the team and the coach need me to do.”