RED ROSES ARE 'GREATEST TEAM'

Captain Aldcroft thinks so after third World Cup, while coach says they'll rule for a long time

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England coach John Mitchell insisted the Red Roses could “dominate the world for a long time”, after their 33-13 win over Canada in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham on Sept 27.

The victory ended England’s long wait to win a third world title to set alongside their 1994 and 2014 triumphs.

No. 8 Alex Matthews, a world champion 11 years ago when England also beat Canada in the final, scored two of their five tries on Sept 27.

England, the best resourced team in women’s rugby union and with the most competitive domestic league — Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) — had long been regarded as favourites to be crowned world champions on home soil.

But the fact they had won just once in six successive final appearances, including an agonising 34-31 defeat by New Zealand in the Covid-delayed 2022 show piece in Auckland - had raised questions about their ability under pressure.

Canada’s Asia Hogan-Rochester tried to reopen those doubts with a fifth-minute try in front of a sellout crowd of 81,885 - a record for a women’s 15-a-side match at the headquarters of English rugby union.