Canada scored 64 points in Edinburgh, England turned a halftime deficit into a rout and New Zealand won on French soil as the new WXV Global Series opened with three very different statements.
The first weekend of the new WXV Global Series gave us three winners, but not three identical performances.
England beat Australia 48–15. Canada defeated Scotland 64–26. New Zealand won 28–14 in France.
On paper, all three were convincing. Watch how the games actually unfolded, though, and the opening round becomes considerably more interesting.
Australia led the world champions at halftime and showed that England can still be disrupted. Canada scored 10 tries and maintained its attacking threat even while temporarily reduced to 13 players. New Zealand went into Lyon and produced what captain Georgia Ponsonby described as the Black Ferns’ best defensive performance of 2026.
For American fans, these aren’t simply results from overseas. The USA Women’s Eagles enter the Global Series next Sunday against Ireland in Dublin, so opening weekend provides the first indication of the standard being set before the Eagles join the competition.
And if one team did the most to change the conversation in Round One, it was Canada.
Canada 64–26 Scotland
Canada Didn’t Just Win — It Looked Ready for England
England remains the team everyone is chasing, but Canada gave the Red Roses something to think about.
The Canadians scored 10 tries at Hive Stadium, with scrum-half Olivia Apps setting the tempo from the beginning. Apps helped create Lizzie Gibson’s opening score from a quick tap, scored twice herself and was named Player of the Match in her first 15s appearance for Canada since the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
Canada led 31–12 at halftime, but what happened after the break may have been even more revealing. Gabrielle Senft was shown yellow before Brittany Kassil followed her to the sideline, with Kassil’s card subsequently upgraded to a 20-minute red. Even while temporarily reduced to 13 players, Canada continued to threaten.
Replacement scrum-half Justine Pelletier found space around the breakdown to score while Canada was shorthanded. By full time, the Canadians had reached 64 points despite Scotland scoring four tries of its own.
That combination of attacking pace and depth is significant. Canada head coach Kevin Rouet was pleased with the performance but stopped well short of suggesting his side had reached its ceiling, saying afterward:
“We aren’t a finished product yet.”
That may be the most interesting Canadian comment to emerge from the weekend. Canada scored 64 points away from home and still believes there is considerably more to come.
Why This Result Matters
Next comes England.
The two teams meet at Sandy Park next weekend in a rematch of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup final. England scored 48 in its opener and Canada scored 64, meaning the two sides combined for 112 points before facing one another.
There are defensive issues Canada will need to address. Allowing Scotland four tries and losing two players to cards cannot simply be dismissed because of the final margin. But the attacking picture is difficult to ignore: Canada played quickly, its forwards consistently generated momentum, Apps provided pace around the breakdown and the replacements added to the performance rather than merely protecting a lead.
If there was a warning shot in Round One, this was it.
England 48–15 Australia
Australia Found a Way to Trouble England — for 40 Minutes
The final score makes England’s opening victory look routine. The first half was anything but.
Australia went into halftime leading 10–5, becoming the first team since France in November 2020 to hold a halftime lead over England. The Red Roses had gone 60 Tests without trailing at the break.
Australia’s approach mattered. The Wallaroos’ defensive pressure and work around the breakdown prevented England from settling into the rhythm it so often establishes, and for an entire half Australia did more than survive against the world champions.
It led them.
The important question was whether Australia could maintain that pressure once England adjusted. The answer came quickly after halftime.
May Campbell put England ahead shortly after the restart before Meg Jones followed. Debutant Bryony Field scored only minutes after entering the match, and England increasingly took control as Australia’s resistance began to break.
By full time, England had scored seven second-half tries, transforming a five-point halftime deficit into a 48–15 victory.
The Scoreline Hides Australia’s Best Evidence Yet
A 33-point defeat is not what Australia came to England to achieve, but the final margin shouldn’t erase what happened during the opening 40 minutes.
The Wallaroos demonstrated that their defensive system can disrupt England and that they possess the physicality to make the world champions uncomfortable. The problem was sustaining that standard once England began winning field position and producing quicker ball.
That distinction matters as Australia builds toward a home Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2029. Rugby Australia’s own post-match assessment identified the first half as the standard the Wallaroos need to reproduce consistently.
For England, meanwhile, the most encouraging part of the performance wasn’t simply scoring 48; it was solving a problem Australia had successfully presented for an entire half. The Red Roses were uncomfortable and behind at the break, yet responded with 43 second-half points.
That ability to adjust when a Test isn’t following the expected script remains one of the reasons England’s winning streak has now reached 39 matches.
Canada may have produced the loudest opening result. England provided another reminder that putting the Red Roses under pressure and actually beating them remain two very different things.
France 14–28 New Zealand
The Black Ferns Won This One Differently
New Zealand didn’t score 48 points. It certainly didn’t score 64.
Its victory may still prove just as important.
France entered the weekend having won 14 of its previous 18 home Tests, but the Black Ferns went into Lyon and left with a 28–14 victory.
New Zealand led 14–7 at halftime through tries from Justine McGregor and Mia Anderson. Mererangi Paul and Liana Mikaele-Tu’u added second-half scores, while France’s tries came through Pauline Bourdon Sansus and Lina Queyroi.
This wasn’t primarily an attacking showcase, however. It was a defensive victory.
Black Ferns captain Georgia Ponsonby called it “our best of 2026.” New Zealand’s loose forwards repeatedly competed around the breakdown, while its midfield defense limited France’s ability to build sustained attacking momentum.
That is significant because this was a different type of challenge for New Zealand: a physical, pressured European Test against France in Lyon. The Black Ferns didn’t need the game to become loose or spectacular. They found another way to win.
France Never Found Enough Rhythm
France wasn’t blown away, which may make the defeat more frustrating.
Les Bleues remained within reach, but New Zealand repeatedly prevented them from building enough sustained pressure to take control. Independent post-match analysis similarly identified France’s difficulty establishing attacking rhythm against the Black Ferns’ breakdown work and defensive pressure.
France won’t have to wait long to revisit the problem. The two teams are scheduled to face each other three more times during the 2026 Global Series, with the later meetings shifting to New Zealand.
Round One belongs to the Black Ferns, and winning the first encounter on French soil makes it particularly valuable.
What About the Three Losing Teams?
The three defeats shouldn’t be viewed in quite the same way.
Australia probably takes the most encouragement. A 48–15 loss is still a heavy defeat, but producing a 10–5 halftime lead against England is meaningful evidence of progress. The Wallaroos proved they can create problems for the best team in the world. Their challenge is maintaining that standard for 80 minutes.
Scotland has more work to do defensively. Captain Rachel Malcolm acknowledged afterward that Canada had won the physicality battle on both sides of the ball. Scotland scored four tries and showed enough attacking threat to find positives, but conceding 10 made the contest impossible to rescue.
France’s concern is control. New Zealand didn’t overwhelm Les Bleues with an enormous score. Instead, the Black Ferns repeatedly prevented France from dictating the terms of the match. That can sometimes be a more difficult problem to solve than a collection of obvious defensive mistakes.
By the Numbers
The numbers behind the opening three Tests of the 2026 WXV Global Series.
Three Winners — and Three Different Reasons for Optimism
Trying to establish a definitive pecking order after one weekend would be premature. What Round One gave us instead were three very different pieces of evidence.
England showed adaptability. Australia presented the world champions with a genuine problem for 40 minutes. England identified the answer and then punished the Wallaroos once the match began to turn.
Canada showed attacking range. Ten tries came through a combination of pace around the breakdown, power through the forwards and impact from the bench. Even playing shorthanded didn’t completely stop the scoring.
New Zealand showed control. The Black Ferns went into one of the more difficult environments in women’s international rugby and won without needing the match to become an attacking shootout.
The question entering Round Two is which of those performances travels best.
England and Canada are about to give us the first answer.
Why This Matters for the USA
The Women’s Eagles weren’t part of opening weekend, but they will be now.
The USA begins its WXV Global Series campaign against Ireland at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin on Sunday, September 20.
That gives American supporters a useful reference point because the opening three Tests demonstrated how unforgiving this level can be. Australia played an excellent half against England and still lost by 33. Scotland scored four tries against Canada and still lost by 38. France stayed within two scores of New Zealand but never managed to take control of the contest.
For the Women’s Eagles, the lesson isn’t that they need to imitate England, Canada or New Zealand. It is that they will need to sustain Test-level pressure for the full 80 minutes, because opening weekend demonstrated how quickly a competitive performance can unravel when that standard drops.
England, Canada and New Zealand have made their opening statements.
Sunday in Dublin is the USA’s turn.
WXV Global Series — Round One Results
England 48–15 Australia
CorpAcq Stadium, Salford
Scotland 26–64 Canada
Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
France 14–28 New Zealand
Matmut Stadium de Gerland, Lyon
This is the version I’d use as the main article copy. The short standalone sentences are now reserved for places where they actually add emphasis—particularly “Next comes England” and the final USA line—rather than being the default rhythm throughout the piece. The result feels more like an RFC analysis feature while retaining the pace that made the previous version work.
