LONDON — The challenge handed down to the Red Roses come the Women’s Rugby World Cup final against Canada is to go from very good to great.

Holding the current world record for the number of matches unbeaten, and the six consecutive Grand Slam triumphs is not enough by their standards. That’s just good form. To become truly great, to establish yourself as one of the sport’s immortals like the England class of 1994 and 2014 means you have to win rugby’s biggest prize.

Oh, and while you’re at it, given the wider significance of this tournament in England: deliver and thrill in front of 82,000 fans at a sold-out Twickenham and please establish and leave a legacy to grow the entire sport. These Red Roses know the wider implications of what they’ve achieved over the past five weeks in a record-breaking World Cup which has stretched the length and breadth of the country, but also the significance of the prize if they manage to overcome Canada on Saturday.

England’s key mantra throughout has been about trying to anchor themselves in the present, and, ultimately, not getting carried away with what could happen on Sept. 27. The key to this? Perspective.

“It’s about not making this a bigger event than it is,” captain Zoe Aldcroft said.

But of course, then comes the wider significance of what Saturday will be like.

“It’s just going to be so exciting to see where we have pushed women’s rugby to and just excited for this new era of women’s rugby on Saturday,” Aldcroft added.

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On the eve of their World Cup opener against the USA, Natasha “Mo” Hunt was asked if the Red Roses have their own version of the “proper England” mentality which guided the Lionesses to their Euro 2025 triumph. Hunt looked at Amy Cokayne, Cokayne looked at Hunt — the pair of them turned to their defence coach and England great Sarah Hunter for the answer. Hunt later asked, in return, “well what word would you use to describe us?”

Well, with time and that instance of having the tables turned in a news conference replaying through my mind for the last five weeks, it could be “winners,” “relentless,” or “driven.” Yet ultimately, this group will be defined by whether they can deliver the World Cup, which they have so long been favourite for, and steering that whole ship has been Mitchell.

Since he took the job in May 2023, Mitchell has been guiding this group of immensely talented athletes through their frankly ridiculous unbeaten run, but ultimately prepping them for Saturday. “I think I spend more time in this job as a psychologist than a rugby coach and it’s something I enjoy as well, I enjoy the mental side and I’ve been exposed to a lot of sports psychology over the years.

There were psychological wounds to heal. For 21 of the 32 in this World Cup squad, they experienced the heartbreak of the 2022 World Cup final defeat to the Black Ferns. That was a match they were widely tipped to win, but ultimately lost out by three points. That’s their sole defeat out of 63 matches. It’s an astonishing record, but with that comes the challenge of managing the pressure of what many felt would be an inevitable victory.

So Mitchell’s aim since they met as a group for the first time in Chester in July 2023 has been to reframe how they see the challenge of big tournament rugby. The talent has never been in question, but it’s been about moulding culture and forging a group that can cope with the outside noise over these five weeks. “We are more focused on the opportunity for success, rather than around the risk of failure,” Mitchell says.

For Mitchell, the key theme has been perspective. When he took the role, he brought nearly three decades’ experience of a coaching career which took him from being head coach of the All Blacks in 2001-03, to spells in Australia with the Western Force, South Africa with the Lions, to coaching the USA, working under Eddie Jones as England’s men’s team reached the final of the 2019 World Cup and then time with Japan before ultimately ending up in charge of the Red Roses.

His philosophy for England has been drawn off those years of rugby familiarity, but also personal experience, like career disappointments, or the life-changing moment in 2010 when he was stabbed twice when his house was broken into in Johannesburg. “Life can take you back, life can take you forward,” Mitchell said. “But I think the older you get and the more you’re in it, you’ve just got to be where your feet are really.”

Key to all this is consistency. It’s needed whole-squad buy-in, and heading into this tournament each of the squad knew their role. “The hardest challenge for any team is the non-playing members and getting them to understand how they can make the team stronger. We have done a lot of work in that area, I don’t think you get it right all the time, but we have been able to make it work for ourselves to this point.”

“This point” is one match away from being champions. The tournament for England started with a comfortable victory over the USA in front of a record pool stage crowd for the tournament, and was backed up with further wins over Samoa and Australia. Then came their quarterfinal win against a spirited Scotland side, and they managed to overcome a tricky France team in the semifinal where they were rocked by a couple of questions asked of them.

“We’ve had to experience 10s going down in the middle of the tournament, we’ve had to deal with the expectations coming into the tournament, we’ve had to deal with resetting a performance, we’ve had to deal with wet-weather rugby as well. There are lots of little things,” Mitchell said. “Ultimately, all you can do is try and prepare as much as you can before the tournament and make sure you remain consistent in the tournament regardless of what is thrown at you or challenged you.”

Within the group there is a wealth of experience. You have Emily Scarratt who is in her fifth World Cup and, though she’s had 18 minutes in this iteration, her knowledge and nous has been invaluable, contributing as the team’s water carrier but effectively the coaches’ eyes and ears. She is one of four players in this group who won the 2014 World Cup, alongside Hunt, Marlie Packer and Alex Matthews.

There’s defence coach Hunter who is England’s most-capped player with 141 appearances. And then there’s World Player of the Year nominee Jones and her roommate Ellie Kildunne, who took the honour last year. Then you have the two greatest front-rows in the sport: England’s starting trio, and the back-up three on the bench.

And that’s just a snapshot of the talent in this squad, without mentioning their formidable locks, or the hard-hitting Sadia Kabeya, inspirational captain Aldcroft, or their world-class fly-halves, or incredible wingers.

But all are wearing this expectation. Mitchell has only spoken to the team as a group once this week. That was on Tuesday morning. But the theme has remained the same throughout. It’s the promise of what can be, but also the journey to get there.

“If we do get to the point where we are great then to me seeing the smiles on people’s faces, players and staff, will be the most fulfilling,” Mitchell said, but that was one of the few times he allowed himself to spread into the realm of talking about what life would be like if they get the job done on Saturday.

For a group that’s achieved so much, there’s still that delicate unknown ahead of them. Mitchell has talked up their ability but also the potential. Yet he’s still keen to talk about how Saturday will not be the be-all and end-all. Back in 2010 he made a promise to himself that he would no longer be defined by results on the field. So it’s against that backdrop they face their greatest test since that day in Auckland in November 2022.

“If you set a ceiling on the weekend, then that’s probably dangerous material. If we get it done, we can still be even better,” he said. “I just don’t know when it’s ever finite, to be totally fair with this team. If we don’t get it done, it won’t stop this team from growing. If we do get it done, it won’t stop this team from growing. There’s so much talent in this team, but ultimately it’d be nice for this team to be able to fulfil their potential and be rewarded for the effort that they’ve put in over a long period of time.”

A place in rugby immortality awaits. This team seems to have managed the expectation and pressure brilliantly, but this weekend will be the acid test. Canada are a fearsome opponent, and boast one of the greatest players of the modern era in Sophie de Goede. But for the Red Roses, it’ll be about anchoring themselves in the present and trusting in what’s got them this far.

“As a group we are so excited to get out there,” Mitchell said. “We have been working on this now for three years and it is our time now, we really feel that.”