England have won the Women’s Rugby World Cup on home turf – after backing from a cowboy hat-clad Princess of Wales who led congratulations with Prince William.
The Red Roses put on a consistently strong performance against Canada in the showdown at Twickenham on Saturday in front of thousands of supporters.
And their efforts were rewarded as they streaked to victory during the much-anticipated conclusion to the near month-long tournament held in England.
But it was not all plain sailing as the ladies had a woman in the sin bin at the 51-minute mark, after Hannah Botterman was given a yellow card and sent off for ten minutes.
It came after the prop took Canadian flanker Karen Paquin over the horizontal, meaning her tackle saw the player’s feet lifted higher than her head.
But they came back with a vengeance, claiming a well-deserved win in front of nearly 82,000 fans.
This was the largest crowd ever to watch a women’s rugby match – and the second biggest number ever for a final of either men or women.
The victory was just the latest addition to a glittering summer of women’s sport, with the England women’s football team winning the Euros back in July.
The English women’s rugby team lifted the trophy in front of a home crowd at Twickenham in the World Cup final on Saturday
The Red Roses put on a consistently strong performance against Canada in the showdown in front of around 80,000 fans
Their efforts were rewarded as they streaked to victory during the much-anticipated conclusion to the near month-long tournament held in England
The Princess of Wales took to the Instagram account she shares with her husband Prince William to wish the ladies luck ahead of the big game (pictured, her post)
It is believed today’s accolade for the women’s rugby team, won on home turf, could do the same thing for the sport as the Lionesses’ Euros win in 2022 did for football.
The Princess of Wales took to the Instagram account she shares with her husband Prince William to wish the ladies luck ahead of the big game.
Kate, 43, who is patron of the Rugby Football Union, wrote: ‘Good luck England! Wishing the very best of luck to the @redrosesrugby in their Women’s Rugby World Cup Final at Twickenham today. We’re so proud of you! C.’
Alongside the caption, the mother-of-three posted a photo of herself posing with players Megan Jones, Ellie Kildunne and Jess Breach.
In the snap, Kildunne and Breach were seen wearing white cowboy hats with an image of the team’s emblem of a red rose on the front.
Meanwhile, the royal wore a red stetson, decorated with an image of a tiara.
The official Red Roses Instagram account responded, writing in the comments section: ‘Thank you for your support!’
The Prince and Princess of Wales also took to X after the clock went red to praise both England and Commonwealth nation Canada.
They claimed a well-deserved win in front of nearly 82,000 fans
This was the largest crowd ever to watch a women’s rugby match
It was also the second biggest number ever for a final of either men or women. Pictured: English teammates Sadia Kabeya and Alex Matthews celebrate victory
The Prince and Princess of Wales also took to X after the clock went red to praise both England and Commonwealth nation Canada
It came after King Charles also weighed in before kick-off to express his support for both sides with a post on social media platform X
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also took to X to praise the team after the final whistle
The British premier had wished the ladies good luck on the social media platform before kick-off too
They wrote: ‘Congratulations to @RedRosesRugby, the new Women’s Rugby World Cup Champions!
‘Well done to Canada – you had an outstanding tournament. Both teams should be so proud!’
It came after King Charles also weighed in before kick-off to express his support for both sides.
The monarch wrote on the Royal Family’s official X account to send his ‘warmest good wishes’ to the teams on behalf of himself and his wife Queen Camilla.
He said before the match: ‘What a remarkable achievement for both teams to have reached this pinnacle of the sport.
‘I know that supporters on both sides of the Atlantic will be cheering with equal and tremendous pride.
‘May the best team win and may you both play with the spirit of sportsmanship, determination and true grit that makes rugby such a wonderful game to watch.
‘Whatever the result, you have already done your countries proud. Good luck to you all. Charles R.’
It was not all plain sailing as the ladies had a woman in the sin bin at the 51-minute mark, after Hannah Botterman (right, with teammates Alex Matthews and Megan Jones celebrating the team’s win) was given a yellow card and sent off for ten minutes
The victory was just the latest addition to a glittering summer of women’s sport, with the England women’s football team winning the Euros back in July. Pictured: English captain Zoe Aldcroft after her team’s victory
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also took to X to praise the team after the final whistle.
‘Congratulations @RedRosesRugby! You have shown the very best of England and inspired a generation,’ he wrote.
The British premier had wished the ladies good luck on the social media platform before kick-off too.
‘On behalf of the whole nation, wishing @RedRosesRugby the very best of luck in today’s World Cup Final.
‘Already you have smashed records – the biggest women’s Rugby World Cup in history, hosted here on home soil. We are all rooting for you!’
Today’s face-off came just over ten years after the English players took on the Maple Leafs in the final in 2014, when they won by 21 points to nine.
The team also reached the final of the two most recent World Cups, in 2017 and 2021, but were just pipped to the post by New Zealand in both.
But not today, where members of the English squad and their team also took home several individual accolades on top of their trophy win.
Flanker Sadia Kabeya celebrated taking home the player of the match trophy (pictured)
England head coach John Mitchell celebrated winning coach of the year (pictured)
Flanker Sadia Kabeya celebrated taking home the player of the match trophy while England head coach John Mitchell celebrated winning coach of the year.
