When you are as dominant as the England women's rugby team, the difference between success and failure is paper-thin.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen’s recent comments come to mind, as he reflected on his province’s 2024/25 season.
"We played 28 competitive games, you lose three. Obviously there's one that stands out in everyone’s mind, it’s the reality," he said last week.
Seven Guinness Six Nations titles in a row, 32 successive wins, and one defeat in 63 matches paints a dominant picture, and yet they are still judged on that one defeat, which came against New Zealand in the last World Cup final, three years ago in Auckland.
Two-time world champions England last lifted the trophy in 2014 when they defeated this weekend’s opponents in the decider.
This will be their seventh time in a row making it to the final, beaten by the Black Ferns in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017 and most recently 2022.
On paper, this final between England and Canada should be no contest.
The World Cup hosts will have the vast majority of the 82,000 crowd at Allianz Stadium Twickenham supporting the home side while their seemingly endless resources are in stark contrast to their opposition, who had to crowdfund one million dollars to help them prepare for the tournament.
When it comes to the eye-test though, this final looks beautifully balanced.
Canada, who leapfrogged New Zealand to number two in the world rankings this year, have been on a roll. Unbeaten in 11 games in 2025, they haven’t lost since being beaten by England 21-12 in the final round of WXV1 last October.
Kevin Rouet’s side delivered a game for the ages in last week’s semi-final, dismissing the Black Ferns 34-19, a scoreline that flattered the defending champions.
For the first 60 minutes, they produced the most complete performance of this tournament and were 31-7 ahead before the Black Ferns started to mount a mini-comeback just before the hour mark.
They didn't even concede a penalty until the 61st minute.
At scrum-half, Justine Pelletier had New Zealand second-guessing themselves at every ruck, scoring the opening try with a deft show-and-go, and she later sniped and offloaded to send second row Sophie de Goede rampaging under the posts for the fourth try before half-time.
De Goede is a rare talent. Daughter of Hans and Stephanie, both of whom captained Canada at World Cups, the 26-year-old is the heartbeat of the side.
The numbers she is putting up in this tournament are mind-bending. With the ball in hand she ranks top of the charts for carries (85) and offloads (11), while she has scored three tries.
Behind the ball, she ranks fifth for tackles with 68, and has won five breakdown steals.
At the set-piece, she is the chief ball-winner, claiming 36 lineouts, more than any other player, while her three lineout steals are joint-third.
On top of it all, she’s a natural footballer, and has kicked 20 conversions and a penalty.
Combined with her three tries, she’s on 58 points for the tournament, leaving her second in the overall chart behind New Zealand’s Braxton Sorensen-McGee.
While Canada are playing with fearlessness, the weight of expectation has been evident on English shoulders.
John Mitchell’s side haven't looked like losing yet, but equally they have looked clunky and inconsistent.
"I don’t think you’ve ever seen the best of England. There’s definitely more in this team. We always ask more of ourselves," the head coach (below) said.
The vastly experienced New Zealander was brought in as head coach in 2023 to replace former boss Simon Middleton, with this World Cup on home soil specifically in mind for the Red Roses to finally deliver.
They breezed through the pool stage with wins over USA, Samoa and Australia, and while the margins of victory against the Americans and Wallaroos were eventually quite large, they had to endure periods of sloppy and undisciplined rugby in the first half of each game.
Mitchell showed his frustrations after the 40-8 quarter-final win against Scotland when he complained of the "cynical" Scottish tactics, and they endured another nervous first half against France last week before pulling away to beat Les Bleues 35-17.
England were able to welcome Elllie Kildunne and Hannah Botterman back from injury last week, and Kildunne appeared to be back to her best after suffering a concussion in the pool stage against Australia.
Mitchell has named an unchanged side for the final, as has Canada’s Rouet, who sticks with the same matchday 23 that played in both the quarter and semi-final wins.
The third quarter today will be crucial.
The 20 minutes after half time have been England’s most prolific in the World Cup, scoring 88 points.
It’s also been the period where Canada have appeared most vulnerable; 21 of their 50 points conceded have been in this quarter.
While they are yet to put in the complete performance, England are capable of winning games with knockout punches.
Against France last week, the game was in the balance nearing the hour mark before two tries in 10 minutes gave them the buffer they needed.
In the quarters, they scored two tries in two minutes on the stroke of half time to effectively kill it off against the Scots.
Australia endured a similar fate in the pools, conceding in the minutes before and after the half-time break, while England also scored five tries in the 10 minutes either side of half-time in their tournament opener against the USA.
They can look disjointed at times, but when they sense a weakness they can be lethal, with their backfield of Kildunne, Jess Breach and Abby Dow scoring a combined 12 tries so far in the tournament.
England will score tries in this final, and how Canada react to them will ultimately decide the game.
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