After an 11-year wait and back-to-back defeats in the final, England are once again rugby union world champions. The Red Roses had the same ingredients at this World Cup as they did three years ago: world-class squad, winning dominance and full support from their union. So what made England take the next step to win in 2025? As Ellie Kildunne said after the semi-final win against France, a World Cup isn’t won in a week, it’s won over a cycle. The slight changes implemented under John Mitchell’s new coaching era since 2023 enabled them to be victorious at Twickenham.
After the 2023 Six Nations Louis Deacon remained as forwards coach but Mitchell came in as head coach, Sarah Hunter was introduced in defence and Lou Meadows came in attack. Making the attack more unpredictable was one of the main things they wanted to alter.
That’s because the main criticism levied at the Red Roses after they lost the 2022 final was their lack of attacking diversity. In New Zealand they relied heavily on their deadly rolling maul, a criticism underpinned by the statistics. Throughout that World Cup 30 tries came from forwards and just 13 were scored by backs.
“It wasn’t necessarily lots of change, it was recognising the opportunities in the squad,” Meadows says. “I think we are fortunate in that we have extremely talented players who are highly skilled … I know it has gone across the media as ‘handbrake off’ but it’s no fear of failure. Don’t be worried to make those mistakes. Actually get after it because when it comes off it is brilliant. It might not come off every time but we want you to try and we want you to back yourself in those decisions, play what is in front of you.”
Attacking unpredictability is the biggest change fans have seen in England’s performances and it has taken players such as Kildunne and made them some of the most famous names in the sport. It also helped the Red Roses to win as, in this World Cup, 28 tries were scored by forwards and 20 by backs. Though more forwards are still scoring, there has been that shift of scorers across the team with the highest try-scorer this tournament the wing Jess Breach.
Culture has also had a shift in the England camp with Mitchell at the heart of it. A key aspect is his clear communication, particularly around team selections with the head coach informing his players way ahead of time if they will be playing or not. It allows for individuals to deal with the situation that has been handed to them before the team gets into the week where the entire squad needs to be behind everything involved in trying to get a win.
Mitchell’s communication skills extend to another crucial decision he made which not only gave England the best preparation for this tournament, but also set them up to win: a change in captaincy. Marlie Packer was the skipper when Mitchell took over but he made a change at the start of the World Cup year by giving the captaincy to Zoe Aldcroft, one of the first names on the starting team sheet, while Packer was fighting for her position in the back row.
Packer is a world class player but the competition in the back row, particularly in her position of openside flanker, was incredibly high. Removing Packer as captain allowed for more versatility in the back row with players such as Sadia Kabeya and Maddie Feaunati gunning for positions. Kabeya, who was player of the final, started five games this World Cup, Packer started one and Feaunati was used as a versatile back row substitute in all but one match as she started at No 8 against Samoa.
By freeing up the back row for selection based on form and opposition it made sure the best possible England team was on the pitch at all times. Packer also remained a player in the squad, meaning the team did not lose her valuable leadership and experience. When speaking to Packer pre-tournament it was clear her relationship with Mitchell was one of mutual respect and that the head coach had made her feel valued to this team, which allowed her to flourish behind the scenes and deal with her non-selections.
Mitchell’s communication around the pressures of a World Cup have been impactful too, according to Hunter, the defence coach. “Mitch has been really good around let’s not make it any bigger than it is,” she says. “I think that is really good in terms of bringing the girls back in around where we need to be, keep our feet grounded, stay present, stay in the here and now and the rest will take care of itself. From that perspective it makes it relatively easy to block out that noise.”
All of these factors contributed to their record-breaking 32-game winning streak which helped them get into a World Cup final. But sometimes things can be thrown out of the window in final rugby and so how did England beat Canada? Simply put: scrums, kicks, attacking bravery and slowing down Canada’s game.
That creative licence given to England over the past three years shone through with Kildunne’s solo try and some great intercepts by the centre Tatyana Heard. They also retained all of their forward brilliance, particularly at the scrum with a superb set piece.
Mitchell detailed how they believed teams had attacked poorly against Canada throughout the tournament and so England wanted to “put them into a rugby contest and see what that does to them”. He also said in terms of tactics they wanted to “belt them off nine” which they certainly did with Justine Pelletier, who was unstoppable against New Zealand in the semi-final, muted and “put contestable kicks up to unstructure their back three.”
Their tactics were spot on and it was the difference in the final. The coaches set their team up with all they needed and the players executed the gameplan to a tee. It means England are world champions again and they have left a lasting impact on the game in the country. But now they have won it, do they think they can do it again? “We’re like all explorers,” says Mitchell. “We’ll find the next peak to climb.”
