Overview

• Kick-off is 4:00 p.m. BST, with live coverage on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK; international streaming includes Paramount+ and Fubo, with Australia carrying the match on Channel 9 and 9Now, and the bronze game (New Zealand vs France) at 12:30 p.m. BST.
• England enter as world No.1 on a 32-match unbeaten run and have named an unchanged 23 under head coach John Mitchell.
• Canada arrive after a 34-19 semi-final win over two-time holders New Zealand and are back in the final for the first time since 2014.
• Organisers expect around 82,000 at Twickenham for a standalone women’s rugby world record, following a 3.3m UK peak for England’s semi and more than 53m social impressions reported by World Rugby.
• The final spotlights a funding gap: the RFU invests about £15m annually in the women’s game and England’s squad is fully professional, while Canada’s largely amateur group supplemented preparation with more than £500,000 in crowdfunding.