When the whistle blew at Eden Park on November 12, 2022, the entire England Women’s Rugby side stood in disbelief. Their hearts had just been broken by a late Ayesha Leti-I’iga try as they fell agonisingly short of World Cup glory.
A number of players from that final remain in the England side and will run out against Canada in front of 80,000 fans at Allianz Stadium on Saturday as they try to exorcise the demons of three years ago.
England have been an unstoppable force since, unbeaten in 32 games with coach John Mitchell bringing new players into the squad to mix with the talent already there.
When asked after their semi-final victory over France last weekend what England needed to win the final, second row Abbie Ward said: “Unity, composure and power.”
Composure in particular will be vital. The Roses lost their composure three years ago when they failed to execute the basic skills that they pride themselves on, and winger Lydia Thompson was sent off for a high tackle after just 18 minutes of the final.
There will be worries that the first half of the semi-final against France exposed the nerves and lack of composure that England could struggle with under pressure.
They were huge favourites playing the French but their poor ball retention in the first half showed nerves and a lack of conviction that this team has been accused of in the past.
England would normally be overwhelming favourites against Canada, a team they have not lost against since 2016 and who had to crowdfund to even get to the tournament.
But their Achilles' heel has been big games over the past eight years. They have frozen on the big stage, but they will hope Saturday will be different.
Saturday’s match-up will be fascinating as Canada provide a unique challenge.
It is their first World Cup Final since 2014 when they lost to England in Paris, but they are the second ranked team in the world and a force to be reckoned with.
In their semi-final win over New Zealand they had the fastest ruck speed of any side in any rugby game since records began, with over 90 per cent of their rucks taking under 3 seconds.
They are able to do this as coach Kevin Rouet has a squad who are all incredibly comfortable with ball in hand and have the basic skills to fill in across the pitch.
This is shown by the phenomenal Sophie de Goede, who is capable of doing everything on a rugby field. From kicking conversions to winning lineouts and running in tries, there is nothing the hybrid second row/No8 can’t do.
England will be very wary of her, particularly as she is a team-mate of a number of the squad at Saracens.
Canada will be looking to run the England pack ragged with scrum half Justine Pelletier the orchestrater of their attack who could cause England serious problems.
England are a machine of forward dominance but that dominance does also allow the likes of superstar backs Ellie Kildunne, Meg Jones and Jess Breach to flourish.
The rolling maul is a dominant force with Amy Cokayne, who scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final always a threat at the back of the maul.
England’s depth is one of their strengths and they are able to bring on world-class players from the bench to get them out of bad situations, like against France last weekend.
When you are able to bring on the likes of Sarah Bern, Lark Atkin-Davies and Maddie Feunati in their pack to continue their wave of dominance up front it is something very few sides in the women’s game can deal with.
Like Canada with De Goede, England have a player nominated for world player of the year in centre Jones.
The 28-year-old from Cardiff has been one of the players of the tournament with her strong running and excellent work at the breakdown.
She played in the final in 2017 and then left to play 7s, only returning to the game in 2021 and missing out on the tournament in 2022.
Jones has had a traumatic past year dealing with the loss of both of her parents.
In an recent interview, Jones put her stellar form down to being motivated by her loss.
“It was the best rugby I've ever played because nothing is as bad as hearing that news,” she said.
“Nothing can make me sadder, or diminish my value more than losing my dad, one of my best mates and the rock of our family."
If England are successful on Saturday, they will hope they can inspire more young women and girls to get into rugby much like the Lionesses after their Euros triumph this summer.
This World Cup has cut through to the mainstream, helped by USA megastar Ilona Maher and her 3.7million followers on TikTok. English rugby has certainly been a beneficiary of that, with the increased spotlight on stars such as Kildunne and Breach.
If England are victorious it is hoped that it will inspire young girls across the country to pick up a rugby ball and play.
Ward, who will have her young daughter on the touchline, says it best.
“We talk about inspiring the girls, and everyone here, and my daughter is one of those girls, and we do everything that we can for them,” she said as England bid to end their World Cup wait.
