Sophie De Goede

Sophie de Goede is a forceful and skillful player with Canadian rugby roots. She currently plays as a number eight for the Canada women’s rugby union team and was named as team captain in 2022 – a feat she achieved at 23 years old.

Born on 30 June 1999, Sophie de Goede is the daughter of two former Canadian captains who each set records for their respective teams. Her mum, Steph, was the first woman to captain Canada at a Rugby World Cup in 1994, while her dad, Hans, achieved the same feat for the men’s team in 1987.

Sophie de Goede’s passion for rugby began during her childhood. She started playing at Castaway Wanderers at the age of six and remained with the club for more than a decade. During this period of her life, de Goede also played volleyball and basketball. In fact, she won the Quinn Keast scholarship for basketball and co-captained the Basketball B.C team in 2016.

In the same year, de Goede captained the Canada U18s sevens team and she was named Rugby Canada’s Young Female Player of the Year in 2016. Following this, in 2017, she arrived at Queen’s University and was recognised as U Sports’ Rookie of the Year. One year later, she represented the Canada U20s team and was again named U Sports’ Player of the Year.

Fast forward to 2020 and she moved to London to join Saracens Women for a season. Her highlights included beating Loughborough during the 2021 Premier 15s semi-final – De Goede’s performance earned her Player of the Match.

Two years later, de Goede missed her graduation from Queen’s University due to the 2022 Pacific Four Series, where she captained Canada for the very first time. She was also the runner-up for World Rugby’s Player of the Year award.

With her best years ahead of her, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for Sophie de Goede.