Jack Nowell has told the England women’s team to stay true to themselves and the Rugby World Cup can be theirs.
The Red Roses play hosts and reigning champions New Zealand in Saturday’s final at Auckland’s Eden Park.
They do so with Nowell urging them to ignore outside noise, ranging from criticism of their playing style to baseless claims that a team unbeaten in 30 Tests will crumble under the weight of expectation.
The Exeter star was part of the England team which reached the last men’s World Cup final in Japan and he is clear how Sarah Hunter’s team should approach their big day.
“Don’t change,” he said. “There’s a reason you’ve got to the final and that’s the way you’re playing. You’ve been playing unbelievable rugby. Stick to what you’re good at.”
Nowell said watching the Roses fly the flag so powerfully in New Zealand was “inspiring” for the men’s team as they bid to put behind them home defeat by Argentina when they play Japan this weekend.
"When you see the women’s team winning the games they are, doing what they’re doing in the World Cup, it certainly does inspire the lads to push on,” he said. “If they’re doing it we want to make sure we are too.
“The growth of women’s rugby has gone through the roof in the last couple of years. To win the cup would be huge for English rugby, both the women’s and men’s game.”
As Nowell spoke an editorial in New Zealand claimed there must be a “stomach-churning thought gnawing away” in English minds that their long-running winning streak “will come to a grinding halt at the most unwanted time”.
That followed intense sniping at a forward-dominated gameplan which has enabled the two-time winners to sweep all before them en route to their eighth final.
Nowell pointed to winger Abby Dow’s length-of-the-field try in the semi-final win over Canada as compelling evidence that England can win any which way.
“Unbelievable try,” he said. “They had the confidence to go from where they did. In games like this you can always go into your shells and change the way you’re playing - and think ‘it’s a final we probably shouldn’t be doing that’. But if it’s on it’s on.”
Manu Tuilagi trained with the men’s team yesterday after a blister cut short his game against Argentina. Hooker Jamie George and No8 Sam Simmonds appeared to also take prominent roles.
The last time they faced Japan, in 2018, England were given such a fright Alex Lozowski and Zach Mercer never won another cap and Danny Care was binned for four years.
Asked whether having Lozowski as a clubmate provided a daily reminder that getting it wrong against Japan can have grave consequences, prop Mako Vunipola nodded.
“It's a reminder that it's a privilege to be here,” he said. “It's down to Eddie [Jones] who he picks, it’s not a given.”
