Kevin Rouet’s Canada, ranked number two in the world, have looked a class above all their opponents this tournament and delivered a remarkable semi-final performance to sweep past New Zealand and reach their first World Cup final since they lost to England in 2014.
Canada are semi-professional, and have had to crowdfund nearly a third of the budget for their World Cup campaign – they are currently 95% of the way towards their million-dollar fundraising goal entitled Mission: Win Rugby World Cup.
His side, who lost the semi-final 26-19 to England at the last World Cup, is captained by centre Alex Tessier and contains star goal-kicking lock Sophie de Goede.
Eight of the starting XV play in the Premiership Women’s Rugby league for English sides.
“I think we were very close in the last World Cup,” said Rouet, who was appointed just over six months before that tournament.
“We lost in the semi-finals against England and I would say all of the metrics were in our favour but not the score, so it’s kind of hard sometimes.
“But we were not ready on those high pressure games to deliver and I think that’s a big difference.
“We changed the way we play, for sure, and I think I saw a year and a half ago that we were going in the right direction and we do a lot of good stuff.”
Canada’s team contains three survivors from the 2014 World Cup final defeat – 38-year-old flanker Karen Paquin starts, while fellow forwards Olivia DeMerchant and Tyson Beukeboom are named on the bench.
England have been professional since 2019 and are favourites to win a home World Cup in front of an 82,000-capacity, sold-out Twickenham.
Saturday’s crowd will surpass the 58,498 who watched England beat France at the same stadium in the 2023 Six Nations – the previous record for a XV-a-side match – and the 66,000 who watched the women’s rugby sevens at Stade de France during the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“Playing a World Cup final at Allianz Stadium [Twickenham] in front of a record 82,000 is a significant milestone for the sport,” Mitchell said.
“We are well prepared for the challenge. It is number one versus number two in the world, and we know the contest will demand a full 80 minutes.
“Canada have been outstanding and have played some really great rugby. They have grown as well and are fitter. They deserve to be in the final.”
His side defeated Canada by nine points when they met in the WXV1 last year in Vancouver.
