WRWC 2025 – England’s Reaction

TWICKENHAM – England head coach John Mitchell, captain Zoe Aldcroft, Mastercard Player of the Match Sadia Kabeya, Abbie Ward, Natasha Hunt, defence coach Sarah Hunter, Ellie Kildunne, Meg Jones, Sarah Bern, Morwenna Talling, Rosie Galligan and Abby Dow react after they defeated Canada 33-13 in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Allianz Stadium in London.

John Mitchell, head coach

On winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025:

“It’s been three years in the making. The past certainly dictates the now and the girls hung tough in the whole tournament and connected with the nation. I thought we were superb defensively in the tournament; our attack didn’t need to be at its best but it was effective enough to get the job done.”

On everything coming together at the right time:

“We had massive respect for Canada. They are very good at picking and going but I thought we did a fantastic job in our plans around that area. They lost a lot of momentum today. They are a good side, but they hadn’t come up against us and we were waiting.”

On him being so happy:

“It’s not really so much about me. I’m the old bugger that’s been going for 30 years. You get some and you don’t get some. I am so pleased that these girls have realised their potential. This has been a very good team for a long time, but I think they deserve to be termed a great side today. They’re a phenomenal group.”

On where the win sits in his own career:

“I am very proud to be part of it. I’ll probably have a few beers tonight. There has been some great foundations laid by Simon [Middleton] in the past. This team has been the best in the world for eight years but hasn’t got the job done – and finally has.”

On his coaching focus ahead of the game:

“I thought New Zealand and a lot of teams kicked too long and on them so they ran it back and they got into their pick-and-go, and they were in this flow the whole tournament. So we went to contestables, we tried to make them play rugby, we tried to make them think. Our defensive work around the ruck was extraordinary.”

Zoe Aldcroft, captain

On winning the Rugby World Cup:

“It’s absolutely unbelievable, to do it here at home. I am just so proud of every single one of those girls. We smashed it out there today and I can’t thank the girls enough for putting their bodies on the line. There are 82,000 people here. I can’t thank them enough, and everyone watching at home.”

On her emotions at the final whistle:

“I could not believe that we have done this. We spoke about inspiring the nation and putting women’s rugby on the map. I think we have inspired so many people, not just today but through this whole tournament.”

On keeping their best performance until the final:

“I know those girls could put a performance out like that. There was no doubt in our minds coming into this that we were going to do the job.”

On what the win means for young girls who might want to take up the sport:

“Part of our journey was inspiring those young girls. We talked about reinventing women’s rugby. We want to inspire so many young girls to pick up a rugby ball or a football and do anything they want in the world. If you dream big enough you can get it, and we dreamed big enough today.”

Mastercard Player of the Match Sadia Kabeya

On winning the Rugby World Cup:

“It’s amazing. I want to say thank you to everyone who came out today. You are our 16th man on the pitch. We are just so grateful.”

On what it sounds like to be world champions:

“It sounds amazing, it’s a pinch-me moment, but it’s been years and years in the making and I’m so pleased we could pull it off.”

On saving the best for last:

“Canada are a great side. We worked them really hard and we did all the right things today and that showed in the game.”

On her journey from Streatham-Croydon Rugby Club to winning the Rugby World Cup:

“All I can say is big up South London!”

On what the win should mean for women’s rugby:

“More people picking up a ball, showing that rugby is for everybody – all shapes, all sizes, whatever you want to do.”

Abbie Ward

On her emotions:

“As soon as the whistle went I just burst into tears. It has truly been the most special day. A home crowd, a sold-out Twickenham. The support has unbelievable. You could feel it, it has been electric. It has been amazing.”

On whether the win is redemption after losing the last Rugby World Cup final:

“That was then and it was a different tournament. This is a new chapter of women’s rugby.  It wasn’t about righting wrongs, it was about what this team could do. Today was such a phenomenal show of rugby from both sides. This is our little moment today and it didn’t matter what had happened in the past. This team has been special. This crowd, the support, our friends, families, background staff, it has been absolutely magical.”

On whether the victory made being away from her daughter worth it:

“She’s on the pitch-side now and she’s been waving like mad and I can’t wait to go and pick her up and get her on the pitch. I always said when I came back to rugby I wanted to make sure everything I was doing was worth it. I was putting everything in I could and when you get occasions like today it makes it worth it. To be able to share that with our families, it’s one of those ‘pinch-me’ moments.”

Natasha Hunt

On what it means to her to win the Rugby World Cup, having also won it in 2014:

“Absolutely everything. This is unimaginable – the day, the whole tournament. To walk out in front of nearly 82,000 and perform like that, I could not be prouder of the girls. I am so overwhelmed, I am absolutely buzzing.”

On what the coach John Mitchell and his team have done for the group:

“He’s kept it simple. He’s been very honest, sometimes brutally so with his feedback, but I respect that. I think he’s really fair in what he says. He’s got this week bang on. This week has always been about the process, about the game, not about the emotion because that would take care of itself – and it really took care of itself today. We played on the 16th member – the crowd – and it was just amazing.”

On what it could do for women’s sport:

“It is huge. I don’t think any of is could have imagined it would ever be like this and that is testament to everyone behind the scenes, and also everyone for showing up and hopefully they are here to stay.”

Sarah Hunter, defence coach

On what it means to her:

“Everything. It’s a moment in time for the women’s game. For our girls to experience it as world champions in front of an amazing crowd is just incredible.”

On her work as defence coach:

“I am immensely proud of them. We’ve spoken all tournament that it would come down at times to defence. Everyone spoke about Canada’s threat, Canada’s speed of ball, would they come round the edges. We just took the process and they [the players] did it and I couldn’t have asked any more of them. We denied them access to all points that they’ve had all tournament. They will be proud of what they’ve done today.”

Ellie Kildunne

On how it feels to win a Rugby World Cup:

“It’s something you can’t really put into words, to win a World Cup at home. To win any World Cup at all is very, very special and to have that many people there… We’ve done everything that we wanted to, we’ve inspired a nation and probably more and we’ve got a gold medal around our neck, so nothing to complain about.”

On the crowd when she scored a try:

“I didn’t really hear it – it’s weird, it kind of burst your eardrums a little bit as it happens and you come round back thinking, ‘oh, what the hell happened?’ It feels amazing but it’s more for the team. We’ve got ourselves back [into the game], we need to go underneath the post. So to be able to put the team in that place was something I was proud of.”

On the record-breaking attendance and people getting behind women’s rugby:

“I’m not surprised. A few years ago we would be surprised, but we’ve put in the work and it’s not just being the Red Roses, it’s everyone else – all you guys are taking your time to support us as women’s rugby players and getting our name out there, getting women’s rugby on the map. I remember last World Cup thinking, if we win, this is going to be a thing that changes a sport. Before this game today, we’d already changed the sport and I think that was the biggest difference, and it’s because of not just us as players, but everyone else behind the scenes as well.”

On finishing one tournament and looking to the next:

“We can always get better. We’ve sold out Twickenham for the first time. Can we keep on doing that? It’s not just the final, it’s not just the Grand Slam decider, every single match we’re selling stadiums out, and that’s what we’ve done this World Cup. We just want to take it on to the next Six Nations, the Six Nations after that and then into the next World Cup and keep on getting better, bigger and louder.”

On what excites her about the Red Roses’ journey after watching the Lionesses in 2022:

“I’ve always said I want the impact of this World Cup to exceed my imagination. You can use the Lionesses as a standpoint and what they’ve done for women’s football and football in general has been absolutely huge, but we are rugby, we’re a different sport. We are women in sport and we want to inspire as many people as we can do just like the Lionesses, but we’re here to write our own story. We want to get everyone else involved in it. We’re closely linked with the footballers, they’re all messaging and saying good luck. Women supporting women is the most important thing. I want to keep on pushing the boundaries and keep on exceeding expectations.”

On whether she felt any pressure:

“No. We thrive on this. We have big players who love the pressure. People care, people want to watch us play. We need more people to keep on coming to see us. We want to see the cowboy hats. We are going to keep on performing, we are going to keep on entertaining, that’s what we are here for.”

On how she plans to celebrate:

“Drinking, dancing, having fun, staying tight as a group.”

Meg Jones

On her emotions:

“So proud. We went through exactly what we needed to go through to be strong enough today We faced adversity. I am so proud of the girls, proud of the girls and proud of this one as well [points to Kildunne].”

On the occasion:

“It’s crazy. You only have to look at the Six Nations and how we grew. It is amazing how far this game has come. Hopefully we can keep that momentum. Women’s sport is on a high so let’s keep it there.”

On the importance of this moment for English rugby:

“Women’s sport is on the up. We’re leading with compassion, leading with vulnerability and leading with love. That’s what humans want and I think we’ll keep doing that.”

On Sarah Hunter and her work as defence coach:

“We buy into it 100 per cent, we buy into what she believes in. Defence is a mindset and that’s what I love about it, it’s so black and white. You either make a shot or you don’t, that’s the bottom line. You can talk tactics all you want but it’s a mindset and I think we handled Canada really well.”

Sarah Bern

On what it feels like:

“It hasn’t sunk in. We’ve never played in a stadium like this. It has been electric. I am really happy for the girls.”

On how they managed to focus on the game:

“We recognised we hadn’t put in a full 80-minute performance. It was about believing in ourselves, in our game plan and executing it for 80 minutes and today the girls did amazingly. This is a massive squad effort.”

Morwenna Talling

On the match:

“Insane. It was a hard-fought battle. We knew Canada were going to bring it – they definitely did. We stuck to our game plan and put on a show.”

On what she hopes the tournament might do for rugby in the north of England:

“We have already put northern rugby on the map and this tournament as a whole has done it again. I can’t wait to be with the girls back up at Sale and see what we can do this season.”

Rosie Galligan

On how she is feeling:

“It’s been a phenomenal day and something we’ve worked so hard for over the last three years. The highlight of my day was having my entire family there, including my granddad. It was his first game, he’s 86 years old, in the stands – that was a massive highlight.”

On how important culture has been to the team:

“For us, you have to be good people to be good players. If you’re not helping each other then how can you go towards something together? That is something we have cemented over the last few years and I wouldn’t want to win the World Cup with anyone else.”

On the celebrations in the changing room:

“It’s going crazy in there; the less I say the better. It’s been phenomenal, this has been the day we’ve been waiting for since that World Cup defeat in 2022, and to be able to put everything to use that we’ve done over the last three years and come away as world champions is pretty special.”

On what went through her head at the full-time whistle:

“I just clocked eyes with Zoe Aldcroft and we cried together and embraced each other. I can’t really put it into words. Everything stood still and quiet for a moment, knowing we had done it and that the last three years had all been worth it.”

Abby Dow

On her thoughts on the match:

“Everyone’s asked me how I’m feeling and I’m not actually sure. I think I was kind of in shock when the whistle went, just from the emotions of the last World Cup where you had a shock of a different realisation. And just pride. I started hugging people and I’m not really a hugger and I broke down. I’m going to blame it on the hugging and not the fact that I think everything just hit me. So emotions are all over the place. I’m incredibly proud of the girls, incredibly proud of the journey that we’ve come on as individuals and as a team. I’m overwhelmed and it’s absolutely incredible.”

“The emotions really started hitting me when we arrived at Twickenham. We’ve had it in the past when we’ve played France and we’ve had, like, 56,000. This time it was even more of a surreal experience, where normally the crowd is just at eye level and then all of a sudden you look up and Twickenham Stadium has people coming down the spiral staircase and it’s an overwhelming feeling. I think I was struggling to breathe at one point. I couldn’t believe what was happening to us.

“The most important thing is realising not that we’ve won a medal today, but that we’ve won for women’s sport and for women’s rugby. It’s here to stay, and it’s such a privilege for me to be part of it. To see 82,000 people cheering us on and being there for us – they’re the best fans.”

On how she would like to see the game build on the Rugby World Cup win:

“I’d love to see stability in the game. We’ve got a ball rolling and I don’t want it to stop. What’s so important is the influence that we will have towards grassroots right now, and that actually rugby has influence to change anyone’s life. It’s quite stereotyped, especially with boys, that it can be quite a middle-class sport, and it’s not, and I want to see rugby move up to the north, I want to see it flourish across the country, because look at what football’s done in the women’s game, look how it’s gotten so many girls questioning. Why am I not allowed or why am I not doing that? Why are the boys there getting their knees muddy? What we’re trying to prove is that actually, it’s not just a one-off with football, it’s women’s sport as a whole, and it’s here to stay. I hope that kids will never be limited by it, and we’re proving that today.”

On how a young Abby would respond if she’d been she would win a Rugby World Cup:

“I don’t think young Abby would have believed me, she was a nightmare. The thing is, we’ve always had the potential to do it and what hurts is that we had the potential to do it last time. That hard question is why didn’t we do it? Abby three years ago, when we were in New Zealand, would realise what had hit us and that you can’t take everything for granted.

“I’m so glad that I could do that for young Abby, the one who was playing in the minis, that didn’t have her hair brushed and it was all knotty, who was a chip off the old block from her sister who was 10 times better than her. I wouldn’t be here without my mum or my dad having to drive me everywhere and it’s just so lovely that I could go and hug them in the crowd and be like ‘we’ve done it’.”