England and Canada contest the Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Allianz Stadium on Saturday with John Mitchell’s Red Roses odds-on to be crowned champions for the third time.
For three years England have waited for the chance to erase the memory of their 34-31 defeat by New Zealand in the final of the delayed 2021 World Cup.
That bitter night in Auckland is their solitary defeat in 63 matches and they have amassed 32 successive Test wins since.
The Red Roses dominate the current women’s game, assisted by unrivalled levels of funding, yet in six consecutive finals they have triumphed just once, also against Canada in 2014. It is a record that must be addressed.
A capacity crowd of 82,000 fans will be packed inside Twickenham to watch an historic event, but if you’re not lucky enough to have a ticket here’s all you need to know, including how to watch on TV and if there will be a bank holiday should England win.
What time does England vs Canada start?
The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 final between England and Canada is scheduled to kick off at 16.00 on Saturday 27 September at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
How can I watch England vs Canada?
Fans in the UK will be able to watch all the drama unfold on BBC One, with coverage on the channel from 15.00. A live stream will be available via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.
Who are the commentators?
Coverage will be fronted by Gabby Logan and Ugo Monye. It remains to be seen who will call the match but England’s semi-final win over France saw a commentary line-up of Sara Orchard, assisted by Katy Daley-Mclean and Brian Moore.
England and Canada line-ups
England XV: 1 Hannah Botterman, 2 Amy Cokayne, 3 Maud Muir; 4 Morwenna Talling, 5 Abbie Ward; 6 Zoe Aldcroft (capt.), 7 Sadia Kabeya, 8 Alex Matthews; 9 Natasha ‘Mo’ Hunt, 10 Zoe Harrison; 11 Jess Breach, 12 Tatyana Heard, 13 Meg Jones, 14 Abby Dow; 15 Ellie Kildunne.
Replacements: 16 Lark Atkin-Davies, 17 Kelsey Clifford, 18 Sarah Bern, 19 Rosie Galligan, 20 Maddie Feaunati; 21 Lucy Packer, 22 Holly Aitchison, 23 Helena Rowland.
Canada XV: 1 McKinley Hunt, 2 Emily Tuttosi, 3 DaLeaka Menin; 4 Sophie de Goede, 5 Courtney O’Donnell; 6 Caroline Crossley, 7 Karen Paquin, 8 Fabiola Forteza; 9 Justine Pelletier, 10 Taylor Perry; 11 Asia Hogan-Rochester, 12 Alexandra Tessier (capt.), 13 Florence Symonds, 14 Alysha Corrigan; 15 Julia Schell.
Replacements: 16 Gillian Boag, 17 Brittany Kassil, 18 Olivia DeMerchant, 19 Tyson Beukeboom, 20 Laetitia Royer, 21 Gabrielle Senft; 22 Olivia Apps, 23 Shoshanah Seumanutafa.
Will there be a Bank Holiday if England win?
Should England justify their status as favourites and win the World Cup there will undoubtedly be a clamour for a Bank Holiday and a day of celebration.
Unfortunately, those hopes have already been dashed with The UK governnment’s department for Business and Trade saying they recognise England’s ‘extraordinary achievement’ to reach their seventh successive Women’s Rugby World Cup final.
However, the government has no plans to create a one-off bank holiday as the ‘current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established’.