England win Women's Rugby World Cup for third time with superb performance at Twickenham - match report
Flanker Sadia Kabeya named player of the match as Red Roses extend winning run to 33 games
Superb try from full-back Ellie Kildunne followed by scores from forwards Amy Cokayne and Alex Matthews give England 21-8 half-time lead
Abbie Ward and Matthews score tries as England hold off Canada in second half
Record crowd for women's rugby of 81,885 at Allianz Stadium
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
Maggie Alphonsi
2014 England World Cup winner on BBC One
We have two teams with very different financial support. Canada have less money and they are going to want to come out here and try and win.
It is about showing that Women's Rugby needs more funding.
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesFor the first time in history, an all-female grounds team are in charge of the pitch for a Women's Rugby World Cup final.
Jim Buttar, the head groundsperson at Twickenham, has handed over the pitch today to the 15-strong female team.
The aim is to show that it is a job women can, and should, pursue. Only 10% of grounds managers are women, and the sector is facing a recruitment crisis.
The team features female groundspeople from across the country including Meg Lay, the first female grounds team member at Lord’s; and Liddy Ford, the first female grounds team member at Wembley Stadium.
The initiative has been put together by the Grounds Management Association (GMA) along with England Rugby and Women's Rugby World Cup 2025.
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
Jessica Murphy
BBC News, Toronto
Rugby fans watching Canada take on England - the world's number one ranked team - may be surprised to learn the team has partially relied on fundraising to get them to the the Twickenham arena
In March, Rugby Canada launched the “Mission: Win Rugby World Cup” campaign to make up for a C$1m (£535m) shortfall in the C$3.6m funding needed to get the Maple Leafs to the finals.
“We took a risk,” Nathan Bombrys, the chief executive of Rugby Canada, tells the BBC.
“We wanted to innovate and try something new. Ultimately there’s no guarantee it was going to work but we knew we had a good team on our hands.”
The experiment wasn’t a failure - as of this week, the campaign has raised 95% of its goal, helping finance things like training camps, travel and daily operations.
Rugby Canada says it operates on “fractional budgets and resources compared to our global competitors” and Canadian players earn “modest” fees to play - about C$12,000 if they play all games and tournaments.
Bombrys says “for Canada to be at this level is unbelievable”, competing against countries like New Zealand, South Africa and England that have long dominated the sport.
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
Image source, BBC Sport
BBC One
Hit play at the top of the page to watch these incredible athletes' date with destiny...
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The view from my seat. Cummon u Red Roses 🌹!!!
Rob
Image source, RobCanada v England (16:00 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesBack in 2014, England ended a run of three successive final defeats to land the Women's Rugby World Cup for a second time with a hard-fought 21-9 win over Canada.
The Red Roses led by five points inside the final 10 minutes in Paris, but Emily Scarratt barged though and raced into the corner to make sure of victory.
Scarratt, who is playing in a record fifth World Cup this year, scored another 11 points with the boot while Danielle Waterman rounded off a first-half team try.
As well as Scarratt, Marlie Packer, Alex Matthews and Natasha Hunt are also in the current squad seeking a second winners' medal.
England's side - many of whom took unpaid leave from their regular jobs to play in the tournament - lifted the trophy in front of a crowd close to the 22,000 capacity of the Stade Jean-Bouin.
How times have changed!
The last time England won the Rugby World Cup
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesThere have been nine previous Women's World Cups but only three nations have lifted the trophy - New Zealand (six times), England (twice) and the United States (once).
England have played in eight finals but won two of them - in 1994 and 2014.
Canada lost their only previous appearance in a final - to England in 2014.
The United States won the inaugural tournament in Cardiff.
Canada v England (16:00 BTS)
Image source, Getty ImagesWhy those dates, you ask? Well...
Image source, EPAGood news, I have found the aforementioned cheese place and you can eat as many plates from the belt as you like, for 1 hour 15 minutes, every Wednesday.
That is going in the diary.
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
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Image source, Getty Images
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Image source, Getty Images
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Whatever happens in this final today, it will be a great occasion and a great way to showcase the women's game, not just in rugby, but hopefully other sports too. Hoping for an England win, but can’t underestimate the Canadians, who have the advantage of having no pressure on their shoulders. Come on, Red Roses.
Dan H, IOW
Mike, go back and find out where this place is...
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
Mike Henson
BBC Sport at Allianz Stadium
Image source, BbcBritney and Kris have caught this match as part of their honeymoon trip to London. Britney plays rugby back home for Wanderers and hooker Emily Tuttosi is from their province.
Their hottest tip is not about the match though. Apparently there is a place in London that serves up slices of different cheese on a conveyor belt, like a 90s sushi trend.
Sweating thinking about it.
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
Image source, Getty Images
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Image source, Getty ImagesCanada v England (16:00 BST)
England Rugby
England hooker Lark Atkin-Davies on her journey from being a primary school teacher to professional rugby player:
"It’s nice to reflect sometimes and see the journey that you’ve been on. It’s not always been smooth sailing for me and I think there were some difficult times when teaching and playing rugby.
"Obviously being professional for the last six years, I absolutely love it. Hand on heart, I couldn’t ask for a better job, I absolutely loved teaching and the children, but I still get those moments now when I interact with the children that come and watch the games and from coaching opportunities as well."
Image source, Getty ImagesCanada v England (16:00 BST)
Alastair Telfer
BBC Sport at Twickenham
My ears just exploded. England have arrived.
If any supporters were inside they’ve just come out to meet the Red Roses.
“Mum look how many people there are.” I heard beside me.
Mental scenes!
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
Teenage rugby fan Ava meets her Red Roses heroes – Ellie Kildunne, Natasha Hunt and Lark Atkin-Davies - watches them play in the World Cup opener against USA, and pushes herself to the limit at her first England trials.
The 14-year-old also takes on the challenge of coaching a girls' team who are in need of some inspiration to keep playing the game.
Find out more by watching this clip below or the full story on BBC iPlayer.
My Life: Ava preps for England Rugby trials!
Image source, Getty ImagesAround 3,000 people watched the first women's World Cup final in 1991, as the USA beat England 19-6 in Cardiff.
Just think of that as a change in a generation (and a bit). Incredible.
Image source, Getty ImagesNot everything HAS to change
Canada v England (16:00 BST)
Mike Henson
BBC Sport at Allianz Stadium
Great stat from the hype man on the mic at the teams’ arrival - apparently this is the second-biggest Rugby World Cup final - women’s OR men’s - ever in terms of crowd size.
