Rugby World Cup final: Who are England's players in New Zealand?

England face hosts and holders New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday, 12 November.

The Red Roses have been top of the world rankings since November 2020 and are on a record run of 30 Test wins in a row.

Here is a look at who is hoping to become a world champion on Saturday with links to articles where you can find out more about each player.

Forwards

Zoe Aldcroft

The 25-year-old lock is the World Rugby Player of the Year and has a knitted Jonny Wilkinson doll with her in New Zealand.

Sarah Bern

A 25-year-old prop, with a wing's feet.

Hannah Botterman

A painter and decorator, 23, turned full-time England prop.

Shaunagh Brown

A 32-year-old Harlequins prop and BBC Sport columnist who has spoken about defying society's expectations and difficult decisions around motherhood and retirement.

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Poppy Cleall

Cleall, 30, is at home in the second or back row. An ex-prison officer, campaigner and briefly England's captain.

Amy Cokayne

England's starting hooker, 26-year-old Cokayne balances her rugby career with being a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. She lived in New Zealand as a child and was called up to a Black Ferns camp aged 16 before moving back to England.

Vickii Cornborough

The 32-year-old prop leads off the pitch as well as on it - being the first woman to be elected into a Rugby Players' Association (RPA) leadership role in 2021.

Lark Davies

Vying with Cokayne for the starting hooker spot, Davies, 27, has joined Bristol for the new Premier 15s season.

Rosie Galligan

The 24-year-old lock burst back on to the international scene in the 2022 Women's Six Nations after recovering from meningitis and a shattered ankle.

Detysha Harper

Prop Harper, 24, was called up to replace Laura Keates when the Worcester forward injured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) before England's final pool game against South Africa.

Sarah Hunter

The Red Roses' dedicated 37-year-old captain became the most-capped women's and England international when she made her 138th appearance in the quarter-final against Australia.

Sadia Kabeya

The 20-year-old flanker was coaxed into rugby by her PE teacher and England team-mate Bryony Cleall.

Laura Keates

The prop, 34, is studying to be a dentist alongside her international rugby career. Keates withdrew from the squad after suffering an ACL injury in training and wad replaced by Loughborough Lightning's Detysha Harper.

Alex Matthews

The flanker was left "lost" when cuts to sevens funding meant she was jobless in 2020, but the 29-year-old has found her way into England's XV-a-side World Cup squad.

Maud Muir

At 21, Muir has had a remarkable rise through England's ranks in the past year. In 2021, she and Wasps director of rugby Giselle Mather reflected on how women's rugby has evolved.

Cath O'Donnell

After a prolonged absence with injury, O'Donnell, 26, fought her way back into England's competitive back five just in time for the World Cup.

Marlie Packer

Few would be happy to see Packer, 33, rampaging towards them on a rugby pitch, but the flanker insists she has a gentle side too.

Marlie Packer's toddler Oliver was a mascot for England's victory against Wales in September

Connie Powell

England's third-choice hooker is 22 and plays her club rugby at Gloucester-Hartpury.

Morwenna Talling

The 20-year-old lock would have missed out on the World Cup with an ACL injury had it not been postponed by a year and says her strength may in part be thanks to growing up on a poultry farm.

Abbie Ward

A starter in an extremely competitive second row, at club Bristol Ward, 29, is coached by her husband Dave. For England, she is one of the masterminds behind their formidable line-out.

Backs

Holly Aitchison

Aitchison, 25, represented Team GB in sevens at the Tokyo Olympics and has returned to the XVs side for the World Cup.

Jess Breach

Eye-catching wing Breach, 25, has previously called on men's players to offer more support in promoting the women's game.

Abby Dow

Wing Dow, 25, has a mechanical engineering degree and defied a surgeon's verdict to make it back from a broken leg in just five months for the World Cup.

Zoe Harrison

Harrison, 24, won the race to be England's starting fly-half after World Cup-winning 10 Katy Daley-Mclean retired. She says people "tried to bully her" out of rugby when she was younger and that she wants to inspire young girls to stay in sport.

Tatyana Heard

Just under three years ago, Tatyana Heard started working in a supermarket. The 27-year-old centre's international career was interrupted by three ACL injuries but she has hit her peak during England's World Cup campaign, featuring in both knockout games so far.

Leanne Infante

England's starting scrum-half, Infante, 29, hopes the Red Roses can "create a movement" like football's Lionesses with World Cup victory.

Ellie Kildunne

Inspired by the Roald Dahl quote "lukewarm is no good", Kildunne, 23, has returned to form at full-back just in time.

Claudia MacDonald

At the end of 2021, MacDonald, 26, was told a neck injury might prevent her from playing rugby ever again but the scrum-half and wing is back to full fitness.

Sarah McKenna

Part of England's extremely strong back three, McKenna, 33, doubles as head of the side's social activities and has organised several theme nights in New Zealand, including a Christmas dinner.

Lucy Packer

The 22-year-old scrum-half's consistency meant she was chosen over World Cup-winning nine Natasha Hunt.

Helena Rowland

Centre Rowland, 23, played in an all-star junior team in the small town of Welwyn alongside fellow England internationals Harrison and Botterman. She has been a solid presence in England's backline at the World Cup, but is likely to miss the final because of an ankle injury sustained in the semi-final.

Emily Scarratt

One of the best-known names in the women's game, in April centre Scarratt, 32, earned a 100th cap that was very different to her first.

Lydia Thompson

Wing Thompson could only play one match in England's victorious 2014 World Cup campaign because of injury. She played every game of the 2017 tournament, where the Red Roses were runners-up. Will it be third time lucky for the 30-year-old?

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