This Saturday in Halifax promises to be a landmark day for women’s sports. At 12pm, fans will gather to watch Canada compete in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final, a moment steeped in history and anticipation. Then, just three hours later, at 3pm, Halifax Tides FC will take the field against Vancouver Rise at Wanderers Grounds in one of the final home matches in the inaugural season of professional women’s soccer in Nova Scotia. In a single afternoon, Halifax will host both a global showdown and a local milestone, showcasing the rise of professional women’s sport on two stages at once. One ticket, two thrilling events!
Canada’s women’s rugby team arrives at this final after a thrilling campaign, including a semifinal win over defending champions New Zealand. When they take the field at Twickenham, they’ll do so before a record-breaking crowd, with millions watching from home, including Halifax, where a noon watch party gives fans a front-row seat to history.
Wanderers Grounds, the site of Saturday’s Tides match, is no stranger to rugby itself. Long before Halifax’s skyline echoed with cheers for soccer nights, the field bore witness to a more rugged kind of contest: rugby football. In the 1880s, the Halifax Wanderers Amateur Athletic Club began using the Grounds as home, not just for cricket or lawn bowling, but for rugby, which was one of the club’s earliest and proudest pursuits. Over the decades, the Grounds hosted provincial matches and became a stage for the region’s rugby ambitions. In 2018, Rugby Canada even brought a senior men’s test between Canada and the United States to the venue, marking one of the first major international rugby fixtures in Halifax’s modern era. That legacy makes Saturday’s watch party even more fitting, a chance to celebrate women’s rugby future at a site steeped in rugby’s past.
Immediately afterward, Halifax continues its own first chapter with the Tides’ 3 p.m. kickoff against Vancouver Rise. The launch of the Northern Super League this year created Canada’s first domestic pro women’s soccer league, and the Tides are Nova Scotia’s first pro women’s club. Until now, Canadian players had little choice but to go abroad. The NSL changed that, bringing professional pathways to cities like Halifax and giving fans a team to call their own.
Following the final whistle, fans will be part of another milestone: a post-match ceremony honouring Canadian Olympic champion and the Tides’ first-ever signing, Erin McLeod, as she retires from professional soccer. It’s a chance to celebrate not only a local match but also one of the country’s most decorated players.
That’s why this Saturday matters. Within just a few hours, Halifax will celebrate two different but connected triumphs. Canada chasing a world title in rugby and Nova Scotia embracing its first pro women’s soccer team, capped by a farewell to one of the sport’s icons.
Halifax won’t just be hosting games; it will be hosting history. Make sure to grab your tickets at tidesfc.ca. With multiple viewing areas, food trucks, and bars open from 12pm onward, everything’s set for an unforgettable day of sport and celebration.
We can’t wait to make history with you!