England wrestle with emotions ahead of Women's World Cup final

LONDON :England's coach and players are trying to keep a lid on their emotions while planning to embrace the occasion as they prepare for Saturday's World Cup final against Canada in front of by far the biggest crowd ever to watch a women's rugby match.

Coach John Mitchell named an unchanged 23 on Thursday for the match at a sold-out 82,000 Twickenham - around 24,000 more than the previous record for a women's XVs game.

Mitchell, the vastly experienced New Zealander, has been involved in four men's World Cups in various roles, but this is the first time he has reached a final as England seek a third title following victories in 1994 and 2014.

"First of all, you have to manage your own emotions, have fun with it but try not to make it any bigger than it is," Mitchell told a news conference after naming the same team and bench that beat France in last week's semi-final.

"We're clearly excited by the opportunity but, more importantly, we've got into our work over the last three days and we've stayed very, very focused on the plan that we want to execute on the weekend."

Mitchell, like almost everyone in the sport, probably expected to be facing New Zealand in a repeat of the last final, but world number two Canada forced a rethink after their convincing victory over the six-times champions last Friday.

"I was driving in last Tuesday and just thought to myself, 'This is where it really matters. This is where I've got to find a solution and sell a solution to the girls'," Mitchell said.

"How do we play against Canada and what will work and basically where we can build pressure on them?

"I think what we've done remarkably well this tournament is we've just treated each team for what they offer and what they present. Canada definitely