John Mitchell believes the lessons he’s learned from losing the 2019 World Cup final with England’s men’s team can help him guide the country’s women’s stars to global glory. 

Mitchell was an assistant to Eddie Jones six years ago when the national side suffered heartbreak in Japan at the hands of South Africa a week after downing New Zealand in the semi-finals with one of the best performances English rugby has ever seen. 

Now he is head coach of the Red Roses who are bidding to become the first senior England team to win a World Cup on home soil when they take on Canada at a sold-out Twickenham on Saturday. 

England’s women’s side are firm favourites to come out on top. 

‘I still look back on 2019 and the semi-final was a huge, huge performance,’ said Mitchell, after naming an unchanged 23 and his strongest possible squad for the Canada showdown. 

‘Sometimes as coaches we don’t recognise the emotional tank plus the physical tank that’s emptied on such occasions. In 2019, we probably didn’t refill the emotional tank well enough. 

England women’s head coach John Mitchell is preparing his team for World Cup final glory

Mitchell has his best team available to face Canada including star Ellie Kildunne (pictured)

‘The way we’ve prepared this week is to make sure we headed off for a couple of days after the semi-final performance to be able to come back in focused. 

‘I think we’ve done that really well. This is actually very similar to previous experiences I’ve had. It has its unusual pressures that always come with a pinnacle tournament. 

‘I probably spend more time in this job being a psychologist than a rugby coach. 

‘I’ve only spoken once in the whole week and that was on Tuesday morning. The most important thing is to get out of the girls’ way.’ 

England have lost their last two Women’s World Cup finals in 2022 and 2017 with both losses coming against New Zealand. 

Canada are their opponents this time around after shocking the Black Ferns with an attacking performance that showed just how dangerous a side they are. 

But Mitchell’s outfit has won 32 straight matches since the 2022 final loss in Auckland and should win. Frankly, any other result would be a significant failure. 

England have brushed aside USA, Samoa, Australia, Scotland and France to reach the last two.

There is immense pressure on the team led by captain Zoe Aldcroft. 

‘We’re more focused on opportunity for success than the risk of failure,’ Mitchell said.

‘We haven’t been perfect by any means but we’ve been effective. We’re playing good tournament rugby. Ultimately, I want to see these girls fulfil their potential.’ 

Mitchell has urged England’s women’s stars to go from a ‘good’ side to a ‘great’ one by becoming world champions. 

If, as expected, England do come out on top in front of what will be a world record crowd for a women’s game of 82,000, it is likely to have a transformative effect on the female game in England. 

‘We’ve been working for three years and it’s just our time now. We really feel like that,’ Aldcroft said. 

We are about to find out if that’s the case.

England scrum-half Natasha Hunt warms up for the final showdown at training in London

Meanwhile, England men’s and Leicester lock George Martin has been ruled out of the national side’s four autumn internationals after undergoing shoulder surgery. 

Martin has had a rough run of injuries, knee and shoulder problems meaning he hasn’t played since February. 

‘As with any nerve injuries, the timeframe on George’s availability is slightly unknown but to give George the best chance to perform we know it won’t be during the first half of this season,’ Geoff Parling, the Leicester head coach said. 

England coach Steve Borthwick said: ‘George is a fantastic player and a valued member of the England squad. 

‘He approaches everything he does with professionalism and commitment and there’s no doubt he’s bringing that same focus to his rehab. 

‘We look forward to seeing him back when the time is right.’ 

England men’s lock George Martin will miss the November Tests after having shoulder surgery