England can 'dominate world for long time' - Mitchell

England "can dominate the world for a long time" believes Red Roses head coach John Mitchell after his side beat Canada to win their third World Cup title.

England swept aside Canada 33-13 at Allianz Stadium in front of 81,885 fans - a record for a women's rugby match - three years after losing to New Zealand in the final of the previous World Cup.

"I am so pleased that these girls have realised their potential," said New Zealander Mitchell, who began coaching England after the World Cup in 2023.

"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."

England have won each 63 of their past 64 Test matches with their one defeat being the 2023 World Cup final.

"This team has been the best in the world for eight years but hasn't got the job done [now the team] finally has," added Mitchell.

'We had no doubt we would win World Cup'

England never contemplated anything less than winning the Women's World Cup in a landmark final at Twickenham, says captain Zoe Aldcroft.

"We had no doubt in our minds that we were not going to come out today and do this job," she said.

"We hope we have inspired young girls out there to go and pick up a ball - any kind of ball, any kind of sport - and do whatever they want to in the world, because if you dream big enough you can get it.

"We dreamed big enough today."

Fifteen years ago the Women's World Cup final was played across the road at Twickenham Stoop, Harlequins' home ground.

England lost to New Zealand in that final in front of a crowd of 13,253 - a record attendance for a women's rugby match in England that stood for almost a decade.

"The most emotional part was coming off the bus and just seeing that people were standing in the stands," said Aldcroft.

"It actually choked me up a little bit and I was like, 'oh my goodness, this is it.'

"Coming out to 82,000 people was unbelievable and we could hear them supporting us the whole way through the game.

"We're just so grateful and thankful for the opportunity to play in front of everyone today."

Asked if England, who extended their record winning streak to 33 Tests, were the best side in women's rugby history, Aldcroft said: "It definitely kind of feels like that."

Head coach Mitchell, who suffered semi-final defeat when he led his native New Zealand at the men's World Cup in 2003 and was part of England's men's backroom staff when they lost in the 2019 final, said the consequences of potentially seeing another title slip away haunted him in the build-up to the final.

"I've tried to stay present, but the past jumped into my head and the future jumped into my head as well. I gave myself a few uppercuts and tried to stay present," he said.

"It does create emotions and feelings that are unusual, especially when you get to a point where the opportunity is presented for us to do the job.

"I have now been part of bringing closure to a World Cup, which is very fulfilling."

The 61-year-old said victory was proof of the quality of England's spirit and togetherness as much as their skills on the pitch.

"We always knew that we were going to be good at the rugby, but ultimately our culture won," he said.

"All 32 players - all the staff - brought into how we want to, what we value, and those values are guiding us to this point.

"I got out of the girls' way this week. They just needed to finish what we started, and they certainly did that."

England scrum-half Natasha Hunt said the scale of the win and the occasion was "unimaginable".

Hunt, 36, is a veteran of England's most recent World Cup win in 2014 and was controversially left out of the squad for the 2022 tournament.

"I don't think any of us could have imagined it would have been like this," she said.

"I am so proud of the girls. I hope this stays for women's rugby."

Abbie Ward, who scored England's fifth and final try, said the victory was an achievement for the current team rather than redemption for the upset by New Zealand at Eden Park in the final of the previous tournament.

"The last final loss, that was then," she said.

"This is a new team. This is a new chapter of women's rugby. It wasn't about righting wrongs. This is our little moment.

"This team has been special. What we've done has been special. The support, the crowd, the friends and family involved... it's been magical."

Centre Meg Jones, who missed out on the world player of the year award to Canada's Sophie de Goede, praised England's resilience.

"This game doesn't care about adversity. It just cares about the repeated efforts you put in," she said.

"It's crazy. You only have to look at the Six Nations and how we've grown. It's amazing how far we've come. Women's sport is on a high. Let's keep it there."

England's players will celebrate with the public at a free event at Battersea Power Station on Sunday from 14:00 BST.