AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Canada have sounded a warning to their world rugby rivals that with more resources and more game time they could rise to become the game's No. 1 ranked women's team.
Having turned to public funding in the lead up to the World Cup despite increased financial support from Rugby Canada, the national sporting body, the amateur side was one of the least funded teams to head to New Zealand.
And despite entering the weekend's semifinal with England as massive underdogs, Canada pushed tournament favourites England to the final seconds, playing a high-tempo, running game with an impressive kicking performance alongside their set-piece weaponry. Ultimately outdone by a England's professionals, the belief within the Canada side has only grown following the tight loss.
"There's so much belief within the team and we knew the pressure would be on England to go for a 30th win in a row and we knew within our ranks that we could win, and not just give them a run but win," Canada captain Sophie De Goede told ESPN.
"I think that's why we're disappointed, we gave them a run for their money, and that's what's going to be in the news, 'Canada great underdog story, they really challenged England' but we wanted to beat them.
"[What we learned from the game] was that we know we can be the No. 1, we know we're right there and I think we believed that coming in, but now we know it. But I wish we'd had a win and we could have proved it to everyone, but at least we have that knowledge in our group now moving forward."
Left in tears following their 26-19 defeat at Eden Park, the players were swallowed up by the dozens of Canada fans lining the Eden Park grandstand, many of them family and friends who'd travelled to the other side of the world to watch their daughters, girlfriends, or club teammates take on the best funded team in the world.
With little resources from Rugby Canada some players took their talents to overseas professional competitions, others trained and played around their work, while several more quit their jobs and lived in suitcases in order to fully commit to their goal of winning the World Cup.
"We don't have a professional competition domestically in Canada so a lot of us go overseas, which means leaving family, friends, leaving jobs, careers, while other people have careers, and they have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the gym and then they train in the evenings. They're out of the house from literally early morning to late night and not getting any time to see family because they're so busy.
"Other people have quit their jobs this year when we decided that we were going to do what we called 'soft centralisation'. Rugby Canada funded all our pre-scheduled camps but we thought we needed more days together to compete with professional teams and so we had these 'soft centralisation' camps where we would just all move to one city and find places to bill it.
"So, people had no income and we we're living out of a suitcase for that period of time. So, knowing those stories, I really wanted the win for this group because of all that."
With extra training camps in mind, a team GoFundMe was created with proceeds going directly to their weeks long camps in Halifax and Victoria ahead of World Cup warm-up matches against Italy and Wales. Individual players would open their own fundraising accounts with 50% of proceeds going to their personal costs, while the remainder would go to the team account to cover accommodation, food and transport for the tournament.
Raising over $[CAD]42,000 and counting, the team has received over 400 donations as they close in on their $50,000 goal with individuals and rugby teams across the country showing their support. One club, the Burlington Centaurs, contributed $[CAD]1,500 alone to the cause.
With the massive funding gulf between some of the nations highlighted throughout the tournament, calls for professionalisation in the women's game around the world have been made. Rugby Australia is one national body that has already begun work to structure an increase in payments to create a professional program by 2025, but following their loss on Saturday some Canada players fear they may have missed their opportunity.
"I hope [this has been a warning to the rugby world], like give us some time but also resources," De Goede told ESPN. "I was just speaking to a teammate, and she was saying it feels like we needed to win this game in order to get those resources and I really hope that that's not the case.
"[Hearing those comments] just adds to the disappointment because we knew there was more riding on this game than just a win or loss.
"I really hope that the showing that we've had over the course of this tournament, not just today, and hopefully next week as well, we'll prove that the potential is in this group and in North American rugby in general, and North American women's rugby.
"We've talked so much about growing women's rugby and growing the game in North America, and we've proved we can be the flagship team for that. I really hope that that message carries, even though we didn't get the result."
England captain Sarah Hunter, a passionate advocate for the professionalisation of the women's game, threw her support behind the Canada team and believes the game will only grow in North America off the back of the performance from the team in the semifinal. "Without a shadow of a doubt, I think today's match will definitely help the women's game in Canada," Hunter said after the match. "You've just got to look at some of the players in their team and what they've achieved without necessarily having the same support that England have.
"I would like to see Canada Rugby get behind their 15s team and invest in them and see where this team can go. This tournament was on the back of them having to just spend a small amount of time together and who knows where they can go.
"That is what makes women's rugby more competitive and is going to take women's rugby to the next level. I hope that all the nations that are here that don't already invest as much as England Rugby do realise that that's where the women's game needs to go globally."
With the Pacific Four returning in 2023 alongside the introduction of the WXVs competition, which will see Canada play an extra five Tests a year, De Goede knows that only extra game time can have them competing and beating the best.
"We need that, we need those opportunities to play," De Goede told ESPN. "You think of England who get five games a year through Six Nations on top of every other Test that they're playing, we need those games and opportunities to continue growing, especially coming out of COVID.
"We really had to push to get games this year, and I thought this year was a great example of how quickly we can grow when we have a number of Test matches and opportunities, so hopefully that can continue."
Canada will run out against France on Saturday at Eden Park in front of an expected sell-out crowd with eyes on clinching a historic bronze medal and dreams of taking the game to new heights back home.