It’s not quite David taking on Goliath as Canada challenge England in Saturday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final but the financial gulf between the two teams is vast.

While the world number one hosts can wallow in the riches of a full professional set-up, the second-ranked Canadians resorted to crowdfunding to raise the extra one million Canadian dollars ($720,000) that they felt they needed to launch a serious tilt at the tournament.

Thus far, it seems to have worked. They stunned holders New Zealand in the semi-finals last week with a dazzling performance to set-up a decider at a sold-out 82,000-capacity Twickenham. They now stand one pace away from a first World Cup title.

Their preparation for the competition, however, started a year ago when Rugby Canada chief executive officer Natha

See Full Page