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In the leadup to the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final earlier this fall, everyone, it seemed, was talking about Sophie de Goede, Com’22.

The Guardian declared she was Canada’s “World Cup weapon,” a human Swiss Army knife who was a “goal-kicker, try-scorer, breakdown menace.” The Independent hailed her as “perhaps the world’s best player.”

And as de Goede led the Canadian team to the final, the chatter intensified. Everyone knew a formidable force was about to be unleashed on rugby’s international stage.

But no one from Queen’s would have been surprised by the positive press. After all, in 2021–22, her final year at Queen’s, de Goede led the Gaels to their first national rugby championship and then, to top it off, was named U Sports athlete of the year (she was also an OUA all-star in basketball). Shortly after, in 2023, de Goede told the Globe and Mail she was just getting started.

“One maxim that I’ve always tried to live by is your goals dictate your actions, and there are plenty of goals that I haven’t achieved yet,” she told the newspaper. “I’d love to win a World Cup for Canada, with Canada. And that would be the first time that a Canadian national team has done that.”

And on Sept. 27 at Allianz Stadium in London, she very nearly achieved that goal, leading Canada’s women’s rugby team to a silver medal, the team finally falling 33–13 to England’s impressive Red Roses.

But the hype about de Goede was not misplaced. Everyone recognized the 26-year-old was, as many said, a generational talent – so much so that she became the all-time leading scorer in Canadian women’s rugby history and earned the top individual honour at the World Rugby Awards when she was named the World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year. It was all the sweeter for de Goede, whose anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury had sidelined her for more than a year.

“Being the best player in the world has been a goal of mine for a long time. I think you prove that every time you step on the field, not through an award,” de Goede reflected on her Instagram account. “That said, receiving this acknowledgement is especially validating this year of all years … more than anything I’m just happy to be playing rugby again, but to get back to a high level and receive this award is certainly a cherry on top.”