England & Canada unchanged for final
The world No.1 and No.2 side have opted for continuity, both naming unchanged match-day 23s for arguably the biggest women's rugby match of all-time.
The Canadians have three survivors from the RWC 2014 final, with Karen Paquin starting at openside flanker and Tyson Beukeboom and Olivia DeMerchant on the replacements bench as they were 11 years ago. Full story here.
For England, 14 of their 23 were involved in the most recent RWC final, while only World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year nominee Megan Jones and six-try wing Jess Breach have been named in England's starting XV for every match of the tournament. Get the full details here.
Canada's victory plan in three words
Three figures crucial to Canada's chances of lifting the Women's Rugby World Cup Trophy for the first time have revealed their plan of attack, in three words each.
First up, head coach Kevin Rouet went with the classic; "Believe in ourselves." A fellow North American coach, Ted Lasso, might recognise that one.
Meanwhile, Karen Paquin, set to play in her second RWC Final, after falling just short in 2014, declared; "Confidence, identity and fun," to be her keys to success.
And finally it is "Tempo, unpredictability and passion" for livewire Taylor Perry.
What does it all mean? Who knows, but England's Abbie Ward was happy to get involved, firing back three of her own; "Unity, composure and power."
England's head honcho urges team to 'take handbrake off'
John Mitchell is adamant his team will not go into their shell on Saturday at 16:00.
"One of our values is aligned to attacking it, taking the handbrake off," Mitchell said on Thursday afternoon. "If you do that you will from time to time make mistakes, because you’re too ambitious… we’re more focused on the opportunity for success rather than the focus around the risk of failure."
It is quite a message for team that is carrying a nation's good wishes on its shoulders.
Captain Zoe Aldcroft, part of the team that came up short in the RWC 2021 Final, cannot wait to get out in front of those fans.
"The momentum and the impact that we have had on fans throughout the tournament, it's going to be so exciting to see where we have pushed women's rugby to," Aldrcoft said. "And excited for this new era of women's rugby on Saturday."
Star power back for France & New Zealand
The battle for bronze is set to be a fierce one, with both teams desperate to end on a high.
France welcome in-form Joanna Grisez onto the right wing, one of three changes to a squad that will say goodbye to captain Marine Menager.
Meanwhile, the Black Ferns will have World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year nominee, Jorga Miller back in their ranks, with the flanker recovering from injury. Portia Woodman-Wickliffe continues on the wing, in what is likely to be her final RWC match.
Anyone new to this... check out our Explainers Series
We very much hope there are plenty of you tuning into rugby for the first time, and while it is the greatest sport on earth, it can be a little confusing to start with.
So, if you want to arm yourself with some more knowledge before Saturday's big matches, please do head to our Explainers Series - here is one on a 20-minute red card. Once you've read that just use the filter to navigate to the 'Rugby Explainers'.
There are some video explainers on the Rugby World Cup social channels too:
Finally... the tournament's best hairstyles!
Look good, feel good, play good is England star flanker Sadia Kabeya's motto, one that has surely been prevalent throughout his magical tournament.
Here, for your viewing pleasure (and perhaps amusement!) are some of the best match-day hairstyles seen so far:
Will anyone in a white or red shirt do better in the final?
