Culture, captain and communication: the inside story of a triumph

After the disappointment of the previous World Cup, changes were made to England's attacking strategy

- Sarah Rendell

After an 11-year wait and back-to-back defeats in the final, England are once again rugby world champions.

The Red Roses had the same ingredients at this World Cup as they did three years ago: world-class squad, winning dominance and full support from their union. So what made England take the next step to win in 2025? As Ellie Kildunne said after the semifinal win against France, a World Cup isn’t won in a week, it’s won over a cycle. The slight changes implemented under John Mitchell’s new coaching era since 2023 enabled them to be victorious at Twickenham.

After the 2023 Six Nations Louis Deacon remained as forwards coach but Mitchell came in as head coach, Sarah Hunter was introduced in defence and Lou Meadows came in attack. Making the attack more unpredictable was one of the main things they wanted to alter.

That’s because the main criticism levied at the Red Roses after they lost the 2022 final was their lack of attacking diversity. In New Zealand they relied heavily on their deadly rolling maul, a criticism underpinned by the statistics. Throughout that World Cup 30 tries came from forwards and just 13 were scored by backs.

“It wasn’t necessarily lots of change, it was recognising the opportunities in the squad,” Meadows says. “I think we are fortunate in that we have extremely talented players who are highly skilled ... I know it has gone across the media as ‘handbrake off’ but it’s no fear of failure. Don’t be worried to make those mistakes. Actually get after it because when it comes off it is brilliant. It might not come off every time but we want you to try and we want you to back yourself in those decisions, play what is in front of you.”