{"id":451409,"date":"2025-09-25T22:35:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T22:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/451409\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T22:35:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T22:35:19","slug":"john-mitchell-insists-lessons-learned-from-englands-mens-world-cup-final-defeat-in-2019-can-help-guide-red-roses-to-womens-global-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/451409\/","title":{"rendered":"John Mitchell insists lessons learned from England’s men’s World Cup final defeat in 2019 can help guide Red Roses to women’s global glory"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ALEX BYWATER, RUGBY WRITER<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 14:06 EDT, 25 September 2025 | Updated: 14:06 EDT, 25 September 2025 <\/p>\n

John Mitchell believes the lessons he\u2019s learned from losing the 2019 World Cup final with England\u2019s men\u2019s team can help him guide the country\u2019s women\u2019s stars to global glory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mitchell was an assistant to Eddie Jones<\/a> six years ago when the national side suffered heartbreak in Japan at the hands of South Africa<\/a> a week after downing New Zealand in the semi-finals with one of the best performances English rugby has ever seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now he is head coach of the Red Roses who are bidding to become the first senior England team to win a World Cup on home soil when they take on Canada at a sold-out Twickenham on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

England\u2019s women\u2019s side are firm favourites to come out on top.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018I still look back on 2019 and the semi-final was a huge, huge performance,\u2019 said Mitchell, after naming an unchanged 23 and his strongest possible squad for the Canada showdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Sometimes as coaches we don’t recognise the emotional tank plus the physical tank that’s emptied on such occasions. In 2019, we probably didn’t refill the emotional tank well enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"England <\/p>\n

England women’s head coach John Mitchell is preparing his team for World Cup final glory<\/p>\n

\"Mitchell <\/p>\n

Mitchell has his best team available to face Canada including star Ellie Kildunne (pictured)<\/p>\n

WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP FINAL TEAMS<\/p>\n

Canada: Julia Schell; Alysha Corrigan, Florence Symonds, Alexandra Tessier (capt), Asia Hogan-Rochester; Taylor Perry, Justine Pelletier; McKinley Hunt, Emily Tuttosi, DaLeaka Menin, Sophie de Goede, Courtney O’Donnell, Caroline Crossley, Karen Paquin, Fabiola Forteza<\/p>\n

Replacements: Gillian Boag, Brittany Kassil, Olivia DeMerchant, Tyson Beukeboom, Laetitia Royer, Gabrielle Senft, Olivia Apps, Shoshanah Seumanutafa<\/p>\n

England: Ellie Kildunne; Abby Dow, Megan Jones, Tatyana Heard, Jess Breach; Zoe Harrison, Natasha Hunt; Hannah Botterman, Amy Cokayne, Maud Muir, Morwenna Talling, Abbie Ward, Zoe Aldcroft (capt), Sadia Kabeya, Alex Matthews<\/p>\n

Replacements: Lark Atkin-Davies, Kelsey Clifford, Sarah Bern, Rosie Galligan, Maddie Feaunati, Lucy Packer, Holly Aitchison, Helena Rowland<\/p>\n

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kick-off: 4pm Saturday. Allianz Stadium, Twickenham\u00a0<\/p>\n

TV: BBC1<\/p>\n

‘The way we’ve prepared this week is to make sure we headed off for a couple of days after the semi-final performance to be able to come back in focused.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018I think we\u2019ve done that really well. This is actually very similar to previous experiences I\u2019ve had. It has its unusual pressures that always come with a pinnacle tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018I probably spend more time in this job being a psychologist than a rugby coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve only spoken once in the whole week and that was on Tuesday morning. The most important thing is to get out of the girls\u2019 way.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

England have lost their last two Women\u2019s World Cup finals in 2022 and 2017 with both losses coming against New Zealand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Canada are their opponents this time around after shocking the Black Ferns with an attacking performance that showed just how dangerous a side they are.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Mitchell\u2019s outfit has won 32 straight matches since the 2022 final loss in Auckland and should win. Frankly, any other result would be a significant failure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

England have brushed aside USA, Samoa, Australia, Scotland and France to reach the last two.<\/p>\n

There is immense pressure on the team led by captain Zoe Aldcroft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re more focused on opportunity for success than the risk of failure,\u2019 Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

\u2018We haven\u2019t been perfect by any means but we\u2019ve been effective. We\u2019re playing good tournament rugby. Ultimately, I want to see these girls fulfil their potential.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mitchell has urged England\u2019s women\u2019s stars to go from a \u2018good\u2019 side to a \u2018great\u2019 one by becoming world champions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If, as expected, England do come out on top in front of what will be a world record crowd for a women\u2019s game of 82,000, it is likely to have a transformative effect on the female game in England.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018We’ve been working for three years and it’s just our time now. We really feel like that,\u2019 Aldcroft said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We are about to find out if that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\n

\"England <\/p>\n

England scrum-half Natasha Hunt warms up for the final showdown at training in London<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, England men’s and Leicester lock George Martin has been ruled out of the national side’s four autumn internationals after undergoing shoulder surgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Martin has had a rough run of injuries, knee and shoulder problems meaning he hasn’t played since February.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘As with any nerve injuries, the timeframe on George\u2019s availability is slightly unknown but to give George the best chance to perform we know it won\u2019t be during the first half of this season,’ Geoff Parling, the Leicester head coach said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

England coach Steve Borthwick said: ‘George is a fantastic player and a valued member of the England squad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘He approaches everything he does with professionalism and commitment and there\u2019s no doubt he\u2019s bringing that same focus to his rehab.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘We look forward to seeing him back when the time is right.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"England <\/p>\n

England men’s lock George Martin will miss the November Tests after having shoulder surgery<\/p>\n

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