England has outclassed Canada 33-13 in front of a delirious record crowd at Twickenham to win the Women’s Rugby World Cup for the third time.
The tournament hosts came into the final having won 62 of their last 63 matches, a stretch spanning six years.
The glaring failure during that period was their agonising World Cup final defeat to New Zealand in 2022.
This time, however, England made no mistake, racing to a 21-8 half-time lead.
The English defended well and finished strongly to extend their record winning run to 33 matches.
They were watched on by 81,886 spectators, which was a world record crowd for a women’s rugby match.
“These girls are awesome,” said coach John Mitchell as England added to its triumphs of 1994 and 2014.
“Three years ago we set about doing something and we finally took the last few steps today.
“I think 2022 taught us a lot. We knew we would be good at the rugby but at the end of the day I think our culture won, with the values that have guided us to this point.
“We can dominate the world for a long time, but the world’s going to get better, so this is just the start.”
For England, it was a wonderful occasion to cap off a World Cup that has taken the tournament to new heights.
“This is unimaginable,” England scrumhalf Natasha Hunt said.
“I am so proud of the girls. I hope this stays for women’s rugby.”
Canada takes early lead
Canada, which had to crowd-fund its trip, stole a lineout and sent Asia Hogan-Rochester over for the opening try in the fifth minute.
It proved only the briefest of blips, however, as England recovered and quickly stamped its authority on the match.
England hit back through its sharpest attacker, Ellie Kildunne, who scythed through four defenders to score a trademark try under the posts.
Ellie Kildunne scored England’s first try of the final. (Getty Images: Mike Hewitt)
Three years ago, Kildunne scored in the third minute of the final as England raced into an early 14-0 lead, only to eventually lose 34-31 to New Zealand.
This time, however, England kept its foot on the throat and did not allow Canada, ranked second in the world, a sniff.
England turned to its driving maul to send Amy Cokayne over for a second try.
The third came via the strength of number eight Alex Matthews, appearing in her fourth World Cup final and, with Zoe Harrison converting all three tries, it was 21-8 at half-time.
It took 10 minutes of the second half for England to score its fourth try, with its relentless forward pack smashing a path for Abbie Ward to score.
Canada, with half its squad still semi-professional, showed terrific spirit as Hogan-Rochester got a second try and it enjoyed a spell camped on the England line.
England survived and finished strongly as Matthews scored a second try and the crowd were able to relax and roar their team home.
“It’s frustrating for us because we know we didn’t play our best game,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said.
“But I’m very proud of what they did, the sacrifice they made for three years just to get there.
“It was just missing 80 minutes of good rugby for us to be world champions.”
Earlier in the day, about 50,000 spectators filed into Twickenham to see New Zealand beat France 42-26 in the third-place play-off.
Reuters