Canada
Julia Schell A few good runs that put her team on the front foot in behind the England defence. Spent a lot of time defending. 6
Alysha Corrigan Carried the ball plenty but turned possession over a couple of times. An individual representation of Canada’s whole performance. 6
Florence Symonds Handled by Meg Jones and too often was shovelling on poor ball as the defensive pressure mounted. 5
Alex Tessier A fantastic 50:22 early in the second half was typical of her classy kicking, but struggled under pressure of the relentless targeting by England’s midfield defence. 6
Asia Hogan-Rochester Raised hopes with a typical classy finish after a couple of minutes, and did so again with try in second half. Always a handful. 7
Taylor Perry An anonymous outing for the most part, struggled in the face of the white wall in front of her. 5
Justine Pelletier Tried to make the best of the poor ruck ball she was presented with but could not inject the required zip. Gave away a silly ruck penalty for side entry. 5
McKinley Hunt Was at the mercy of the England scrum from five minutes in. Hooked at half time. 4
Emily Tuttosi Her first malfunctioning lineout throw led to the opening Kildunne try, it didn’t get any better at the set piece for the hooker. 4
DaLeaka Menin Crumpled under the considerable pressure from Botterman. 5
Sophie de Goede Top tackler and carrier for her team, but her metres per carry figure was a paltry 0.9m. This typified both her effort and what she was up against. 7
Courtney O’Donnell All over the shop in the lineout and absent in the loose. Came out a long way behind in a forwards dominated match. 5
Caroline Crossley Worked hard, but found diminishing returns with both her carries and her ruck clearances. 5
Karen Paquin Won a couple of dominant turnovers, one of which off a restart was wasted by her team. Along with De Goede the most prominent forward for Canada. 7
Fabiola Forteza One of the few who put England’s forwards on the back foot with her carrying power, but didn’t do it often enough. 6
Replacements: Gillian Boag (for Tuttosi, 65) Shored up the lineout possession in the latter stages 6. Brittany Kassil (for Hunt, 40) Tone was set when penalised for not driving straight in first scrum 5. Olivia DeMerchant (for Menin, 68) Reduced number of penalties on her side of the scrum 6. Tyson Beukeboom (for O’Donnell, 52) Always offering to carry, and the lineout improved 6. Letitia Royer (for Crossley, 65) Little impact on ability to get over the gainline 5. Gabrielle Senft (for Paquin, 65) Didn’t make a single tackle in 15 minutes 4. Olivia Apps (for Pelletier, 52) An excellent break and increased speed of service summed up her pacy intervention in the game 6. Shoshanah Seumanutafa (for Schell, 72) Very little impact in the dying minutes 5.
England
Ellie Kildunne So often the flame that lights up an England display, and so it proved again. A dazzling run for the opening try and excellent in defence as well. 9
Abby Dow Chased kicks and played her part in the defensive effort, but not much attacking threat and was outshone by her opposite number. 6
Meg Jones A performance of quiet class, with her intelligent link play and organisation vital on both sides of the ball. 8
Tatyana Heard Saved her most influential performance for the final. Prominent with her carrying game and led the midfield blitz that stymied Canada’s verve. 6
Jess Breach Worked hard all game, but a plan designed to keep the ball mostly in the narrow parts of the field made it hard for a winger to shine. 6
Zoe Harrison Floated around, stony-faced and calm, directing the play and giving the territory that the forwards exploited. Excellent from the tee. 7
Natasha Hunt A busy display, including an assist among the forwards for the first Matthews try. Energy belied her veteran status. 8
Hannah Botterman A nuisance at the breakdown, winning two penalties, as well as being part of the bruising scrum. Daft yellow card for a tip tackle. 7
Amy Cokayne Poor throw gifted possession for Canada’s first try, but more than made up for it with a score of her own and brilliant darts from then on. 6
Maud Muir Dominant in the set piece but was held up over the line and also gave away the penalty that led to Cockayne’s second try being scrubbed off. 7
Morwenna Talling 22 tackles and a huge carry late on that set up the game-killing second Matthews try. An absolute boatload of work from the lock. 8
Abbie Ward Made a mess of Canada’s lineout all match. Tuttosi will be seeing her in nightmares for months. 8
Zoe Aldcroft A real blindside’s performance as well as a captain’s one. Tireless in defence and stole her fair share of possession. Lost a few as well, though. 7
Player of the Match: Sadia Kabeya A true hybrid performance of ferocious defence, often out in the backline, combined with big carries and intelligent handling. 9
Alex Matthews Made plenty of hay from the base of a dominant scrum, including two tries and an assist for Ward’s score. Relentless. 9
Replacements: Lark Atkin-Davies (for Cockayne, 60) Increased the intensity at scrum and lineout 7. Kelsey Clifford (for Muir, 58) Drove Canada backwards in scrum and loose 7. Sarah Bern (for Botterman, 60) solid set piece, but not her usual self in the loose 6. Rosie Galligan (for Talling, 69) Kept up the energy in the second row, secured the final lineout 6. Maddie Feaunati (for Ward, 69) Strangled Canada with late defensive efforts 6. Lucy Packer (for Hunt, 60) Kept the tempo up from scrum-half to close out the match 6. Hollie Aitcheson (for Harrison, 66) Calm and intelligent with her kicking 7. Helena Rowland (for Breach, 66) Led the late defensive effort out wide 6.
