Women’s Rugby World Cup: John Mitchell feels England are yet to show their best

John Mitchell refuses to place a limit on England’s capabilities as they target the victory over Canada that will deliver Rugby World Cup glory.

Mitchell has named an unchanged starting XV and bench for Saturday’s Allianz Stadium showdown, a selection he insists is about “trusting the group we have built over the three years”.

History is against England in the shape of a dismal World Cup finals record that has seen them reach the climax to the last six events while winning just once, also against Canada in 2014.

But Mitchell believes the current crop of Red Roses, who have amassed a record 32 successive victories, are ready to thrive on the greatest stage of all.

“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 said.

“We probably don’t even know what that ceiling is – it’s probably wrong of us to set a limit. These girls are driven, they want to get better.

“Ultimately this tournament, men’s and women’s, is the one tournament in the world that you respect.

“It throws curve balls and you have to deal with a lot of adversity to get to this point and Saturday will be no different.

“You’ve got one and two in the world in the final, which is so good for the game. It will require an 80-minute performance, which we will have to earn.

“We’re never going to be perfect, but to win this tournament, you don’t have to be perfect.”

There are seven survivors from the starting XV edged 34-31 by New Zealand in the delayed 2022 World Cup and that agonising late defeat – their only loss in the last 63 games – has stalked England ever since.

Mitchell, a former All Blacks boss with a lengthy coaching CV, was brought in to help the Red Roses over the line, a key component of which will be dealing with the pressure of this week and the jitters that might surface on Saturday.

“First of all you have got to manage your emotions, but also have fun with that and try not to make it any bigger than it is,” he said.

“We started back in Chester in 2023 and now we have the opportunity to finish something.

“Clearly we are excited by opportunity but more importantly we’ve got to stay very, very focused on the plan that we want to execute on the weekend.

“We’ve had to reset through difficult situations. We’ve also had the challenge of managing our home World Cup as well.

“The girls have done remarkably well on the field, but they’ve also embraced and connected with everyone in the country.

“Three years ago we set the vision, so it’s quite nice to be sitting here with the opportunity to make one final step.”

Twickenham is sold out for the showpiece, which will be preceded by the bronze final between New Zealand and France. England captain Zoe Aldcroft is relishing the opportunity to play in front of a record crowd for women’s rugby.

“We’re so excited to experience it. It’s something that we’ve never experienced, but we’ve wanted for so long. It’s a new era for women’s rugby,” she said.