Mitchell keeps trust in what he has built for World Cup final

John Mitchell is applying the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mantra to his World Cup final team selection after naming an unchanged 23. 

The Red Roses head coach has renewed his faith in the squad who defeated France 35-17 in the semi-finals to set up the showpiece against Canada on Saturday. 

Gloucester Hartpury’s Natasha Hunt will start a World Cup final for the third time, and is the only remaining starter from the 2014 triumph over the same opposition. 

“We are trusting the group that we have built over the three years,” Mitchell said.

“We started back in Chester in 2023 and now we have the opportunity to finish something, so we have got to earn that right and we have presented ourselves with that opportunity.

"Players don’t always need to be perfect, but we have definitely been effective and that is all that matters. 

“Clearly we are excited by opportunity but more importantly we have got into our work over the last three days, recovered from the semi-final and stayed very, very focussed on the plan that we want to execute on the weekend.”

Your Red Roses lineup for the #RWC2025 Final! 🔥#PWR pic.twitter.com/lBnc3BcWnd

— Premiership Women's Rugby (@ThePWR) September 25, 2025

Mitchell is coaching in his second World Cup final, having served as England men’s defence coach in the 2019 defeat to South Africa. 

While the England team six years ago operated right on their limit to make the final, the 61-year-old believes the Red Roses are yet to fulfil their true potential. 

He added: “I don’t think you ever see the best of England, but what is more important is how we play against Canada and what will work and where we can build pressure on them. 

“I think what we’ve done remarkably well in this tournament is just treat each team for what they offer and what they present.  

“They definitely have strengths and they definitely present you opportunities, so it is up to us to exploit them. We are never going to be perfect, to win this tournament you don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be effective. 

“There is definitely more in this team, we always ask more of ourselves, we probably don’t even know what this ceiling is. 

“And it would be wrong of us to even think about a ceiling because that is when we stop and create a limit. These girls are driven, they want to get better.” 

Mitchell has refused to be drawn on what a triumph on Saturday will mean for him or the team. 

He even managed to not to use the words ‘World’ ‘Cup’ and ‘final’ throughout much of the press conference to avoid tempting any fate. 

The players have been allowed to dream about what 82,000 people packed into Twickenham will feel like.

World Rugby Player of the Year nominee Meg Jones talks about how much this World Cup has meant! 👏#PWR #RWC2025 pic.twitter.com/xI4TiG32pI

— Premiership Women's Rugby (@ThePWR) September 23, 2025

The aim on Saturday will be to tune out the deafening noise, but captain Zoe Aldcroft knows that the expected world record crowd represents more than just the fans in the stadium. 

She said: “Just as a group we are so excited to get out there. We have been working on this now for three years and it is our time now, we really feel like that. 

“We're so excited to experience it. It's something that we've never experienced but we've wanted for so long.  

“I think just the momentum and the impact that we have had on fans throughout the tournament from the start of Sunderland to coming now into Twickenham.

"It's just going to be so exciting to see where we have pushed women's rugby to and just excited for this new era of women's rugby on Saturday.”