Mentality monsters & million-dollar rivals – who can upset England?

Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025

Date: 22 August – 27 September, England

In Eden Park’s belly, the idea was born.

The Black Ferns met for a gym session at New Zealand rugby’s spiritual home fourteen weeks ago.

The tang of stale sweat, strip lighting, bench presses, pull-up bars, and strip lighting complete the space.

However, something extraordinary happened before the work-out even began.

The rugby director of the team, Allan Bunting, sat down before the team.

You need to know what our weapon is, he said, “but I have seen some amazing things on the field.”

It’s a mentality, they say.

When we are exhausted and feel as though we can just be held safe and secure, we will need to leave.

“That’s where big games are won,” he says.

Bunting encouraged his team to overcome fear, fatigue, and pressure with vigor after doing the same.

Bunting stripped to his waist and gave his team a full-throated haka before admitting he was “really scared” about the next section of his presentation.

The Black Ferns’ legacy is sizable and rich. They have won the trophy six times and eight times at the Women’s Rugby World Cup. They have won every final they have hosted.

The Black Ferns have found a way to stage the big game wherever it may have been.

Bunting’s slammed into place. Hard .

Following a heartfelt rendition of the national anthem later that week. 79-14 New Zealand destroyed the United States.

The 34-year-old, who was a member of the New Zealand teams that won the World Cup in 2017 and 2022, retired a month earlier to bring top-notch pace and tournament expertise to the group.

Braxton Sorenson-McGee, 18, a rising star at the other end of her career, might be one of the tournament’s breakout successes.

Former World Player of the Year Ruahei Demant, who led the team to victory in the World Cup final against England three years ago, will take over the starting lineup.

However, it might be that New Zealand’s most powerful weapon is the people who believe collectively rather than any one star.

Bunting was called into the Black Ferns organization for the first time in 2022.

The Black Ferns had lost four games in a row before England, who won 43-12, and then improved to 56-15 when they won the following week.

Bunting’s task was unrelated to the game, though.

In the midst of disagreements and allegations of favoritism and disrespect, he was given the task of rebuilding the 15-a-side unity and culture after leading the women’s sevens team to Olympic gold the previous year.

The Black Ferns defeated England 34-31 in the biggest game of their lives in the final match seven months later, riding the home support. In a World Cup final, New Zealand defeated England for the fifth time.

Rugby Canada was open to the idea of raising money to support their women’s team’s campaign in March.

Mission: Win Rugby World Cup was given the name. And why shouldn’t it be?

Only the Red Roses have defeated Canada in the past two years, making them the closest competitors to England in the world rankings.

Over the course of that period, those scores against England have also gotten worse.

That game was missed by Sophie de Goede. After torn knee ligaments, the back row, who was twice the year-ending World Rugby’s team, made it back in July.

She’ll feel right at home in England, just like many of her team-mates.

The 32-man Canadian squad, including their captain and Exeter international Alex Tessier, has signed for PWR clubs.

Amazingly, Alex Austerberry, the assistant coach for Saracens and the winner of two national titles, also has English influence behind the scenes.

At the previous Rugby World Cup, Canada outlasted England with a physical semi-final score of 26-19. Expect a similarly strong forward pack with quicksilver runners and skilled playmakers in the backline.

However, their preparations for this year’s tournament have been much more extensive, with funding for training camps and warm-up matches, with more than 88% of their million Canadian dollar target (£530, 000) raised.

There is a lot of difference between two points.

France and England could have easily faced off in the final of the previous Rugby World Cup. New Zealand escaped 25-24 in the semi-final thanks to Caroline Drouin’s missed last-gasp penalty.

With a 43-42 defeat at Twickenham, they were closer than anyone else to breaking England’s current 27-game winning streak earlier this year.

The French are currently positioned as distinct underdogs, describing their team as “ambitious outsiders” who “will put themselves in the best possible position to compete with the world’s top three.”

Their final warm-up game tempered the fans’ expectations. As the hosts were kept on the back foot and without a ball for a long period of time, England came out with a score of 40-6 in a game in Mont-de-Marsan on August 9.

In the wake of that defeat, co-head coaches Gaelle Mignot and David Oritz gave the team four days off to recover and recover.

They will hope that a young squad with an average age of 24 can find their rhythm in a competition’s weakest pool, at least according to the world rankings.

Italy, South Africa, and Brazil are the opponents.

The squad’s most experienced player, Pauline Bourdon Sansus, will miss their opener against the Azzurri, despite having won her first of her 66 caps against England in November 2015.

However, France has some leftfield picks and an effective backup at scrum-half in Alex Chambon.

Carla Nielsen, the uncapped daughter of former Fiji international Dan Baleinadogo, was called back into the 15s squad despite missing out on a bigger training squad earlier in the summer while Carla Nielsen, the uncapped daughter of former sevens international Dan Baleinadogo, was not selected.

Following the warm-up defeat by England, co-captain Manae Feleu remarked, “Sometimes, it’s good to take a knock right before a major competition.”