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Without disrespecting any of the opposition the Red Roses have faced, England’s World Cup starts now. Since the draw John Mitchell and his players would have had a pretty good idea they would be locking horns with France for a place in the final. We’re into the sharp end of the tournament and, such are the resources available to England, it would be crazy if they hadn’t plotted for a semi-final against Les Bleues in advance.
There is plenty of expectation on the Red Roses but pressure is a privilege and they have dealt with everything that has come their way so far. There is expectation because they are 31 matches unbeaten. England have repeatedly demonstrated they are not just a side who perform at World Cups: their consistency in tournament cycles is clear to see.
They are the No 1 side in the world, they have the best player, the best domestic competition, an unrivalled support structure and they are hosts. It’s an immense position to be in and now is the time to deliver. They know they will be judged on the next eight days.
There has been criticism of the way they defeated Scotland in the quarter-final. I felt after the 2022 World Cup there was a huge amount of growth potential for England and I still feel the same. Having said that I also believe their performance against Scotland was a tactical masterclass. The Bristol weather was miserable but Holly Aitchison commanded England around the pitch superbly. They took their game to an area where I don’t think anyone can compete with them in terms of physicality and set-piece dominance.
In knockout rugby you do what you need to do to win. If England are going to win this World Cup they will do so playing to their strengths including a great kicking game, a fantastic set-piece and unrivalled forward power. They’ve got star names in the backs – Meg Jones, Ellie Kildunne, Abby Dow and Jess Breach – they’ve got speed to burn. But you also have to adapt a gameplan to get the best from the entire team and take the opposition to areas where they can’t compete.
The mind goes back to England’s thrilling 43-42 victory at Twickenham during this year’s Six Nations. France have had a difficult buildup, lost two of their best players including their captain and been caught up in controversy over Axelle Berthoumieu’s biting ban. Without slipping into stereotypes, if there is one nation who can harness that backs-to-the-wall mentality it is France, but I just don’t think we have seen enough evidence through the competition that they can live with England for 80 minutes. They will take heart from that Six Nations defeat, particularly the second half, but they were fortunate to get past Ireland in the quarter-final.
This is the third women’s World Cup I’ve been fortunate enough to work on - I’ve also worked on three men’s World Cups - and it may be recency bias but this has been my favourite to date. The atmosphere in the stands, the reaction on social media - it feels like a totally different audience and it has been incredibly wholesome. Some traditions remain - the crowds at the Brighton double header drank the bars dry on both days - but I’ve been so immersed in a home tournament in which the home nation is performing well. It has been a celebration and a far cry from 2015.
Something the women’s World Cup offers is the sheer depth of stories across competing nations. The women’s players seem more willing to share their stories, for example the Samoan team having six mothers in their matchday 23, and I just think that’s really relatable for a lot of people. A lot was made of the one-sided scores early on but that happens in men’s World Cups too.
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Italy - a Six Nations side - were twice thrashed in the pool stage at France 2023 - and it is inevitably going to happen in the women’s game when the disparity in funding in infrastructure is so significant.
The Red Roses have got their house in order with their contract situation supplemented by the strength of their domestic competition and by contrast you have Canada, the second best team in the world, having to crowdfund $1m just to be here. The disparity in results and performances it’s just a reflection of the finances and funding behind some of these teams.
But when England smashed USA in game one, people in the stands were cheering just as loudly for the last try as they were for the first. We’ve got a brand new audience, about 50% of women’s rugby fans have only become fans in the last two years so a lot of people are still understanding the game, and they see another try as another celebratory moment in a competition that has had plenty of them.
