At 38, Karen Paquin leads by example as Canada looks to make mark at Rugby World Cup

After Canada finished fourth at the last Rugby World Cup in November 2022, Karen Paquin decided to give her body a break.

So the veteran flanker stepped away to concentrate on coaching at Quebec City’s CNDF (Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy).

“I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I knew I didn’t feel quite done,” Paquin said. “But I knew at that point I needed to be away a bit, so I kept playing, but more for my local club and my province and those kinds of games.”

Paquin’s mind changed when she watched Canada at the 2024 Pacific Four Series. She liked the look of the team’s more expansive gameplay.

“I was like ‘That might be something I want to get into.’ Because it looked different, and it looked really fun. And I thought I have so much more to learn from this,” she recalled. “So I decided to give it a try.”

Paquin says she returned to the game for all the right reasons. And today, the 38-year-old from Quebec City is poised to play in her fourth World Cup.

Captain Alex Tessier is delighted to have Paquin back in the fold.

“We love Karen,” Tessier enthused. “Karen is very unique, I can tell you right now, there is no second Karen on this team. She’s amazing and I think she inspires a lot of girls on the team … She’s one of the fastest on the team and one of the hardest workers.”

“And she brings a whole bag of experience as well … It’s valuable to have a player like her when you have high-pressure games,” Tessier added. “She knows what those high-pressure games feel like, and I think that will really help us.”

The second-ranked Canadian women open Group B play against No. 14 Fiji on Saturday in York, England.

Like Paquin (who has won 45 caps for Canada), forwards Tyson Beukeboom (77 caps) and Olivia DeMerchant (61 caps) will be competing in their fourth World Cup.

Paquin returned to action for Canada earlier this year, starting against the U.S. in May in Pacific Four Series play — her first start since the last World Cup. But first, she had to pass muster for Canada coach Kevin Rouet.

Rouet admits he did not take it easy on Paquin when she returned to camp ahead of last fall’s WXV tournament.

“She came back, and the game had changed so much, and she was lost every time. And I said, ‘Karen, you have to do better. I won’t give it that easy to you,'” Route recalled. “She came back and she had an amazing Pac Four.”

“Fourth World Cup and she’s still excited,” he added.

Rouet loves the way Paquin puts her body on the line every time she steps on the pitch.

“Normally when you’re older, you can save your body in practice but Karen doesn’t,” he said with a laugh. “She sets the example to the youngsters.”

Paquin knows just one speed — top gear. And watch out, anyone who gets in her way.

Paquin’s commitment to the sport was shown at the 2017 World Cup when she tore her meniscus against Wales in Canada’s second match. She finished the game and continued playing “on one leg” for the rest of the tournament.

Amazingly, she spent a month training for bobsled when she came home. Then it became clear she needed surgery.

Initially, it was thought it might only take three to four months to recover. But they found another tear, requiring a second operation. Paquin was out for 18 months.

Paquin says she feels fine ahead of this tournament.

“My body’s good, my mind’s in the right place,” she said. “It’s been hard juggling work and training at the same time but I guess that’s the reality of it. But right now I’m in a good place. I’m excited for it, really.”

In addition to a string of World Cups — with a silver medal at the 2014 tournament where Canada finished runner-up to England — Paquin’s rich rugby resume includes two Olympics in sevens play. She won gold at the 2015 Pan-American Games and bronze in 2016 in Rio in Olympic sevens, as well as silver at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Paquin was named to the 2014-15 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Dream Team.

Paquin continues to coach these days. It pays the bills while giving her the satisfaction of preparing the next generation of players.

A former chemical engineer, Paquin left her job in 2012 to try out for the national sevens team. Years later, she says this World Cup feels like the end of the road for her when it comes to international play.

“I know I’ll keep playing rugby, so it’s not the end of my rugby, it’s just the end of my international rugby days … I’ve come to enjoy it one last time with the amazing people that are here. And I’m going to do my very best, and then I’ll move on to focus on coaching and see what that life is like.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press