HREE BEARS walk into a room. It almost sounds like the start of a corny joke but 2025 is no laughing matter for Bristol’s Red Rose trio that are sat in front of me.

Forwards Sarah Bern and Abbie Ward bear the scars of World Cup final losses to New Zealand in 2017 and 2022.

Fly-half Holly Aitchison only carries the baggage of that agonising loss last time out, when Lydia Thompson’s red card meant England played with 14 players for 62 minutes. As it happened, the game was alive until the dying embers and even then it looked like England, lauded as set-piece Queens, would maul over to claim the trophy at the last. Instead, the lineout went awry and Eden Park crowned the Black Ferns champions.

That was the fifth time English hopes have been dashed in a World Cup final by New Zealand. They’ll hope there’s no repeat later this year when the World Cup rolls into town, with the bronze and gold finals taking place at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in September.

As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them. Or in this case, hire a veteran Kiwi as your head coach.

John Mitchell took over the Red Roses ahead of WXV in 2023. He has coached all over the world and is no stranger to the RFU having led the England men’s forwards from 1997-2000 and more recently looked after the defence for Eddie Jones from 2018-21. At just 37, he was given the All Blacks’ top job in 2001. It’s a mightily good CV.

The only thing missing was time in the women’s game. So how has he had to adjust his techniques?

“He’s probably had to adjust to more tears,” quips tighthead prop Bern. “I’ve heard from other coaches that men can be quite stern or brash when they get disappointing news. Girls might cry, whether it’s good or bad news!”