Nolli Waterman remembers the last time England's Red Roses were on top of the rugby world

I DROPPED to my knees at the final whistle,” says Nolli Waterman.

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“It was a massive relief because we knew the game needed a northern hemisphere team that was being provided with resources to win for there to be a turning point in the game.”

The pressure on the Red Roses this year to win a home World Cup is undeniable but as Waterman tells Rugby World, it is no first. Women’s rugby in England has had expectations set upon its shoulders many times before. In 2010, 2017 and 2022, the expectations to win the World Cup were sky-high. To help transform and revolutionise the game. To inspire the next generation. On all three occasions it was close but no cigar, a trio of final defeats to the Black Ferns acting as a black-spot disease to the Red Roses’ World Cup dream.

The same expectations were bestowed upon the class of 2014. With the tournament across the Channel in France, England were yet again a two-horse favourite alongside their ultimate adversaries, New Zealand. Having lost at home at the Twickenham Stoop in the 2010 final, Waterman has experienced what life is like when you lose. While the fanfare and attention was adorned on the team prior to the tournament, it was remarkably absent after England failed to get over the line in the final, save for a big team night out in Guildford.

By the 2014 final, there was a feeling of now or never for the Red Roses’ hopes. Support from the women’s game had been on the rise, financially and resource-wise, which had been returned with consistent performances from Gary Street's team. But as Waterman realised, it was only silverware that could really move the needle.