Alysha Corrigan looks back at 'special' year ahead of PWR final

As Alysha Corrigan readies herself for a second final appearance in nine months, she is still struggling to believe the events that led to her last one in the summer of 2024.

The Saracens centre made Canadian history at the Paris Olympics when she featured in the team that took silver in the rugby sevens, Canada’s best-ever performance in the event.

“It's still hard to put in words, and hard to even believe. I'll text some of my teammates and be like, can you believe that we're silver medallists? When is it going to sink in?” reflected Corrigan.

“Going to an Olympics has always been a dream of mine, and to be able to accomplish it and come away with a silver medal was pretty special. 

“To do it with the group that we had, the memories we made, and the history we made within Canada has been pretty cool. I don't even think it's sunk in.”

Canada defeated Australia 21-12 in the semi-finals and went on to lead against favourites New Zealand in the final, helped by a Corrigan try. But the Black Ferns fought back to take gold 19-12.

It brought complex emotions for the 28-year-old, who narrowly missed out on gold but did so while achieving something no Canadian had before.

“When you win that semi-final, it's like a weight is lifted off your shoulders. You are guaranteed a medal,” Corrigan explained.

“It took away some of the pressure walking into that final because there were no expectations. We had already made history in Canada.

“But to come that close, you look back and you're like, ‘Oh, I regret that.’ I can't even watch the game back yet, or there are moments that I skip past.

“It's definitely a bittersweet feeling because I know that we accomplished something amazing, but we were so close to something even more amazing.”

While it might not be an Olympic medal on the line, Corrigan will use that final experience as she hopes to go one better with Saracens in the PWR.

The north London side enjoy a home advantage at the StoneX Stadium against defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury.

“You just want to leave the field with no regrets,” said Corrigan.

“Results will go whatever way they go, but if we can leave the field and put out 80 minutes that we're happy and proud of, that's all you can ask for.”

The Canadian international took up rugby fairly late at 16 years old, but is already in her second spell at Saracens having previously represented them in 2022 before re-signing for this season.

She is among a number of Canadians, including Sarries teammates Fancy Bermudez and Gabrielle Senft, to cross the Atlantic and benefit from all the PWR has to offer in the build-up to the World Cup this summer.

“The league's been so competitive. We knew that that was going to be the case this year, that any team could make the top four and any team could be in a final,” she said.

“It's just a great lead into the World Cup. England has done such a good job in promoting women's rugby and the fans here want to watch and want to support women's rugby, which is really cool. I’m looking forward to what the World Cup brings.”

The attractiveness of the league comes with its own perks for Corrigan and her international teammates as she benefits from a family away from home.

“We’ve got a full WhatsApp chat. It's funny because our XV’s head coach is in it and he'll always make comments on games like when Exeter had a 15-person mall with all the backs. He's like, ‘Ooo, the backs trying to mall,’” she shared.

“It's comforting. Every team you play, there's basically a Canadian in it. So it's nice to see some familiar faces and catch up and it makes it a little bit homey.”

While making new history with both Saracens and Canada sits high on Corrigan’s 2025 to-do list, beyond her litany of final appearances, she hopes her contribution to rugby will extend much further than silverware.

“Obviously we would love to take home a World Cup and celebrate with all the Canadians that have supported us,” she said.

“But [I want to] make rugby more noticeable in Canada. The more people that we can get to pick up a rugby ball and join rugby and stay in rugby, then we've done our job.”