SHOWTIME FOR SADIA

I REVEL IN ALL THE COVERAGE, SAYS LIGHTNING AND ENGLAND STALWART ON EVE OF WORLD CUP FINAL

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FOR some Red Roses, you'd need a diary of sports psychiatrist appointments to unpack their feelings about their three-point World Cup final defeat to New Zealand three years ago, writes James Toney, of Sportsbeat.

Mention Eden Park and you can almost see the lips purse and the muscles tighten, such are the scars of England's then 30-game winning streak coming to an end on the biggest stage.

Sadia Kabeya remembers it differently. A second-half replacement for Marlie Packer an England stalwart she has since replaced in John Mitchell's first-choice second row the south Londoner, barely out of her teens, had only played a few matches for Loughborough Lightning when she earned her first World Cup call-up.

Now she’s established as one of the first names on Mitchell’s team-sheet for Saturday’s final against Canada at a sold out Allianz Stadium.

“I hadn’t really played much during that World Cup, but injuries brought me into the semifinal and final,” she said.