England secured another piece of silverware under John Mitchell after overcoming a determined Canada outfit in Vancouver to be crowned back-to-back WXV1 champions.

In their toughest outing since losing the 2022 World Cup final to New Zealand, the Red Roses were second best for large periods of an attritional contest, with Mitchell conceding the Women’s Six Nations champions “won ugly”.

Despite being edged out 21-12, Canada captain Alex Tessier insisted her team’s aim is to win next year’s Rugby World Cup in England.

After this arm wrestle of a WXV finale, Telegraph Sport analyses how Canada have become the biggest threat to England’s tournament hopes.

A true battle at the breakdown

In a frantic opening five minutes, Canada threw themselves into the breakdown battle, forcing the Red Roses to commit more bodies to the ruck than they are accustomed to. It is a rare sight to see Alex Matthews, one of England’s most consistent performers, penalised for a holding-on penalty, but it was a microcosm of Canada’s fearlessness early on. The Red Roses No 8 became isolated when Laetitia Royer stormed forwards from kick-off and locked her arms over the ball.

It would be one of nine penalties a well-drilled and physical Canadian outfit drew out of England, whose indiscipline remains an issue. Ellie Kildunne and Bo Westcombe-Evans both took turns in the sin-bin for cynical infringements just as the hosts looked ready to strike in the second half.

Canada’s malfunctioning line-out

Despite their energetic performance, Canada will wonder what might have been had they not been so wasteful at set-piece time. They lost seven of their own line-outs – an area they will drastically have to improve on if they want to be serious contenders at next year’s World Cup – but made up for it in other areas.

In the 14th minute, England’s frustrations spilled over when Marlie Packer was penalised for being off her feet as they tried to recalibrate after Canada delivered a huge shove at the scrum. A few phases later, the Red Roses’ line-out maul, usually their most solid attacking platform, was stalled five metres out.

For the most part, Canada packed down with real grit but England’s replacement forwards added much-needed ballast when they came on. Mitchell had warned about the potency of his bench, which he labels the “super eight”, and they lived up to their name tag.

England’s back line neutralised

Last week, New Zealand repeatedly sent exit kicks down the throat of England’s free-flowing back three of Jess Breach, Abby Dow and Kildunne. The Black Ferns were duly punished. Canada were alert to this and, with their diligent line speed, shattered England’s aura of invincibility. While their touch-finders did not always come off, they ambushed England in the wider channels. Save for Tatyana Heard, who looks increasingly like the finished product at inside centre and made several valuable contributions, the Red Roses’ backs had little to write home about.

Kildunne, surely a contender for World Player of the Year given her excellent try-scoring exploits of late, was repeatedly targeted in contact; Tessier’s textbook tackle on the England flyer offered a snapshot of how she was never allowed to impose herself on the game. Westcombe-Evans is still finding her feet at Test level – the Red Roses missed Dow’s combativeness – while Emily Scarratt had little impact when she came on.

Canada benefiting from English resources…

Having beaten New Zealand earlier this year in the Pacific Four Series, then overcome France and given England a stern test in WXV1, Canada continue to bely their status as a non-contracted squad. This is a collective that has routinely punched above its weight as a smaller rugby nation. Most of Kevin Rouet’s players are amateurs and have to juggle day jobs with rugby, but they still went toe-to-toe with the world’s best team, nearly all of whom are full-time professionals. And they did that without one of the world’s best players in Sophie de Goede, who is currently sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The non-competitive nature of the women’s domestic game in Canada has seen an increasing number of players move overseas to join the Premiership Women’s Rugby, England’s top league, or France’s Élite 1 Féminine competition. Foreign players in PWR match-day squads are capped each week but Canada’s – and to a lesser extent Ireland’s – progress is an early indication that a cosmopolitan domestic league could be starting to work against England.

…but champions England are an 80-minute team

This dogfight against Canada shows that they still have a few technical work-ons but after Sarah Bern crashed over in the 67th minute, England were always going to see out the match. Winning is in their DNA, they adapted their game plan and their forwards looked that bit more conditioned.

Zoe Aldcroft, who made 18 tackles, was a pillar of calm throughout. Her late try wrapped up the Red Roses’ 20th straight victory, but this was also a mini reality check and a reminder that sterner challenges lie ahead – notably next year’s women’s rugby showpiece on home soil.

“Our challenge is more than just playing rugby,” concluded Mitchell. “Our challenge is more around how special it’s going to be playing [in] a World Cup at home and something that we impact on other people for the rest of our lives.”

On this evidence, Canada will do everything in their power to stop them.