England captain Zoe Aldcroft believes it is “our time now” as her side bid to end more than a decade of Women’s Rugby World Cup heartache in Saturday’s final against Canada.

The Red Roses have long been the dominant force in the women’s game, with the semi-final win over France their 62nd victory in 63 matches.

But for all that success, they haven’t won the World Cup since beating Canada in the 2014 final, with England runners-up to New Zealand in five of the last six editions.

Nevertheless blindside flanker Aldcroft, a member of the England side that suffered an agonising 34-31 loss to New Zealand in the 2022 final in Auckland, told reporters on Thursday: “We have been working on this now for three years and it is our time now, we really feel like that.”

A World Cup that has already a

See Full Page