Women’s Rugby World Cup: How England can ‘ignore the noise’ of being clear favourites

A key message from England has been to change the narrative of coming so close yet so far on so many occasions. They have reached each of the past six finals, but won only one.

While 12 of the starting 15 from the 2022 final are in their squad, there are many new faces too. Eight of the 32-woman squad made their World Cup debuts this year, and of course they have a different coach.

“That sense of changing the narrative, that seems to be the single pathway to avoid the fear of failure as a consequence of 2022,” says Richardson.

“There were critical moments in that final that they had to overcome, which didn’t go their way.

“You have an experienced squad, but the narrative is around transition and owning this situation rather than reflecting on the past. It is a strong narrative, all about seizing the opportunity they have.

“The phrase is unfinished business, and seizing opportunities. It seems to be filtering through and you can see the players are buying into it.

“It’s like the [England men’s] football team, you can get hung up on past. But three years ago there was a different vibe in camp, different staff, different country. It has nothing to do with the weekend.”

There is the added pressure of the favourites tag – and the omnipresent message currently around women’s sport of leaving a legacy and inspiring future generations.

But at their squad announcement in July, England boss Mitchell said failure to win the World Cup “would not define” this team.

RFU chief Bill Sweeney told the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast this week: “The legacy is all in place already.

“We’re attracting a lot more brand-new fans to the game, which was the intention all along. We’re attracting more volunteers, we’re attracting more players.”

“Regardless of what happens, there will be legacy, ” adds Richardson. “The more exposure you have, the better, and it will not stop when the game is finished.”