England and Canada meet in Women's Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham

England and Canada will contest the Women's Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham on Saturday, with England aiming for a third title and Canada seeking their second final appearance. England are the world number one team and hosts after overcoming France to reach their seventh final, while Canada upset defending champions New Zealand to reach their second showpiece game in the history of the tournament.

The final, staged at Twickenham, is expected to draw a record crowd for a stand-alone women's rugby match. The venue’s stated capacity is 82,000, and organizers said tickets sold out weeks in advance, with attendance projections set to surpass recent marks from the sport’s major women’s events. The match kicks off at 16:00 BST and will be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

England are captained by Zoe Aldcroft, a 28-year-old forward from Scarborough who can operate as a lock but has lined up as a blind-side flanker in the last two matches. She missed the second and third pool stage games due to a knee injury sustained against the United States. Canada’s captain is centre Alex Tessier, a veteran of three World Cups who has starred for Exeter Chiefs since 2023.

The teams are coached by two men with global pedigrees. England are led by former All Blacks boss John Mitchell, 61, who took over the women’s side in 2023 and has won every game since. Canada are coached by Kevin Rouet, 38, who took charge in 2022 after joining Canada’s setup in 2019 as an assistant. Rouet helped steer Canada to the final after a dramatic semi-final win over defending champions New Zealand.

England’s star players include Ellie Kildunne, who has become the tournament’s centerpiece for the Red Roses. She missed the quarter-final win over Scotland after a concussion injury but returned with a high-class performance against France, scoring twice at Ashton Gate. Canada counterbalances with Sophie de Goede, a goal-kicking lock forward who has amassed 58 points in the competition and is the second-highest scorer going into the final. De Goede has delivered 20 conversions—the most in the tournament—and has crossed for three tries, along with one penalty and three conversions.

England have been prolific in attack, scoring 43 tries across five games, while Canada have tallied 35. Full-back Julia Schell has been the standout Canadian tryscorer, crossing six times in a remarkable opening pool performance against Fiji. England’s wings and backs—carrying the pace in Breach’s run of tries—have been equally potent, with wing Jess Breach contributing a string of tries including a hat-trick against Samoa. In the pack, Kelsey Clifford has five tries and Kildunne four.

The head-to-head record favors England, who have beaten Canada in 33 of 37 meetings. Canada’s last victory came in Salt Lake City just over nine years ago, and England have won the most recent 13 meetings. Notably, England won the 2014 World Cup final 21-9, and England defeated Canada again in the 2022 World Cup semi-final in New Zealand, 26-19, with a 21-12 result in Vancouver in October 2024 as part of the teams’ latest meetings in the wake of the World XV competitions.

England reached the final by beating France 35-17 at Ashton Gate, extending their world-record winning run to 32 matches. They had earlier powered past Scotland 40-8 in the quarter-finals, after wins over the United States, Samoa and Australia in Pool A, with 283 points scored and 42 conceded across five games. Canada cruised into the final with a 34-19 semi-final upset of New Zealand, after topping Group B with wins over Fiji, Wales and Scotland and a quarter-final rout of Australia 46-5.

There is a long history in World Cup finals, with nine editions held and only three nations lifting the trophy: New Zealand (six titles), England (two) and the United States (one). England have appeared in eight finals but have won only twice prior to the 2023 title. Canada appeared in one previous final, losing to England in 2014.

If the score is level at full time, the match goes to two seven-minute halves of sudden-death extra time, with the first team to score winning. If still tied, a five-player kicking competition determines the champion. The final is part of a weekend schedule that also features the third-place playoff between New Zealand and France on Saturday at 12:30 BST.

For those following the tournament from home, Saturday’s coverage begins on BBC One and iPlayer at 15:00 BST, with full match coverage and live text on the BBC Sport website from 15:00. Radio commentary will be available on Sports Extra from 15:45 and on 5 Live from 17:00. The third-place playoff precedes the final, with the broadcast offering a complete window into the day’s developments from Twickenham.

The World Cup final at Twickenham stands as a showcase for women’s rugby and a test of two contrasting paths: England’s professional program that has built depth and consistency since moving to full professionalism in 2019, and Canada’s more community-driven model that has produced a resilient, highly motivated team capable of upsetting the world’s best on rugby’s biggest stage. As the teams prepare for kickoff, the rugby world watches to see if the Red Roses can cement their status at the pinnacle of the sport or if Canada can engineer a historic breakthrough on the sport’s grandest stage.