The matches are the first time Canada have played on home soil since a Rugby World Cup warm-up match in August 2025.

More than 15,000 Canada fans are expected to pack BMO Field.

The two Tests have been sold to them as the Rugby Rematch Tour, riffing on Canada’s defeat by England in the Rugby World Cup final a year ago.

A rematch with a revised outcome has been Rouet’s aim for the whole of 2026.

“Being a different squad from the World Cup allows us to have more of a belief in our ability to beat England,” says Apps.

“We’ve been together for five weeks, we have home advantage, mentally we feel really confident. There is definitely more of an expectation now.

“Overall, I think we’d be really, really disappointed in ourselves if we couldn’t get a victory this weekend.”

Doing so would further fuel the momentum of women’s rugby in Canada.

While England benefit from top-class facilities, a deep player pool and central contracts, Canada launched a crowdfunding campaign before the last Rugby World Cup to cover the cost of their training camps.

After Canada’s stirring campaign, the country’s government announced a new 755m Canadian dollars (£401m) funding package for sport in the country in May., external

“I think our showing at the World Cup was like a big final push to get that from the government,” says Apps.

“We’ve yet to see what that it means specifically for rugby, but we’ve heard really positive things.”

A behind-the-scenes documentary on Canada’s Rugby World Cup campaign, called All Heart, has just been released and, in conjunction with the two Tests against England, should boost Apps and others’ profiles.

“England has done a phenomenal job of that,” says Apps.

“The way they tell the story of their athletes and how their athletes get so much space and opportunity to showcase who they are and their brand, alongside rugby.

“It’s amazing to see where female rugby athletes can go.”