Tattoos, forfeit hairstyles and Channing Tatum - inside Red Roses' winning camp

Ellie Kildunne was late. Again.

The England full-back is infamous among her team-mates for her tardiness. But this clip she had a decent excuse. Her presence astatine meal had been delayed by nan consequences of losing a stake astatine training.

Her forfeit was to straighten her mop of curly hairsbreadth for nan team's evening meal.

"I enactment existent to my word," she said. "It's only hair."

It's only hair, but it is besides an important denotation of nan situation that England wanted to build to triumph this Rugby World Cup.

Not everyone successful nan Red Roses campy enjoyed nan erstwhile run successful New Zealand 3 years ago.

Wing Jess Breach, who played only erstwhile successful England's tally to that final, described her 2022 acquisition successful uncharacteristically, and unrepeatably, blunt position successful an section of her Rugby Rodeo podcast successful June.

"I don't want to person resentment and I don't want to deliberation of it successful conscionable a antagonistic way," she said of her hopes for England's 2025 campaign.

"I don't want group to beryllium successful nan squad and consciousness nan measurement that I felt successful nan past one."

That hasn't ever been possible. Weekly action calls invariably put unit connected a squad's unity complete nan people of a agelong tournament.

Head coach John Mitchell has admitted arsenic much, saying "a couple" of his squad still "validate excessively overmuch successful their life astir selection".

But Mitchell has besides praised nan mostly of his players for nan maturity they person shown astir his calls. That has been helped by a conscious, corporate effort to support everyone included, sloppy of their domiciled connected lucifer day.

There has been clip group speech successful nan team's play schedule for team-bonding activities. For nan week of nan final, it was an Asian nutrient night.

For nan semi-final week it was a slumber-party movie night, pinch nan squad wearing pyjamas and look masks, while watching early Channing Tatum conveyance Step Up.

Away from nan organised sessions, different groups person established their ain routines.

Meg Jones and Hannah Botterman's emotion of assemblage creation has prompted them some to get tattoos successful honour of nan location of each of England's games. The brace had cats - a reference to Sunderland shot team's nickname nan Black Cats - inked aft nan team's opener successful nan northbound east.

Shoes, a motion to Northampton's astir celebrated section industry, followed, pinch crystal creams for Brighton completing their pool-stage itinerary. Jones was contemplating a basking aerial balloon to people their semi-final successful Bristol.

One scheme they person for nan aftermath of nan last is to each get a London Underground conduit logo. Another is simply a cabbage successful reference to nan erstwhile usage of nan onshore Twickenham was built connected successful 1907.

Props MacKenzie Carson, Maud Muir and Kelsey Clifford person collated memories and mementos successful scrapbooks.

Tatyana Heard and Lark Atkin Davies lead a small book club.

There has been gaming - pinch an old-school twist. Muir and Jones person been playing Rummikub - a tile-based crippled inspired by nan paper crippled Rummy - while Kildunne has brought nan Guitar Hero console crippled into camp.

All of it helped to support nan unit of being some hosts and dense favourites astatine bay.

A mantra repeated again and again wrong nan campy has been to "be wherever our feet are".

The thought is not to look up to what mightiness beryllium aliases backmost astatine really acold they person come, but beryllium successful nan present, without second-guessing yourself aliases nan consequences of making a mistake.

The squad person not been wholly insulated from nan extracurricular excitement astir their advancement though.

One morning, connected their measurement to nan training pitch, they were confronted by a ample pinboard pinch bully luck messages from superior schoolhouse children astir nan country.

There person besides been post-match dressing-room visits from some footballing royalty, pinch Euros-winning Lioness Chloe Kelly celebrating their triumph complete Samoa, and existent royalty.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, told nan squad that they had her worried aft an moreover first half against Australia successful Brighton. Wing Abby Dow, nan astir prolific successful nan team's postulation of crocheters, presented her pinch a bouquet of knitted reddish roses arsenic a gift from nan team.

The unity of nan squad is evident connected crippled day.

Emily Scarratt, appearing astatine her 5th World Cup and a seasoned of nan team's past successful title tilt, has been moving nan h2o for those selected up of her.

Abi Burton, whose crippled clip has been likewise limited, purchased a drum which has expanded into a afloat percussion support section.

As she sat retired nan quarter-final triumph complete Scotland pinch concussion, Kildunne was 1 of those to enthusiastically return up nan drumsticks.

Botterman is mostly successful complaint of nan pre-match euphony playlist, while nan players' intricate braids are woven into spot connected nan greeting of nan lucifer by an outer master - nan Braid Maidens - because nan players doing each others' became excessively clip consuming.

The astir telling of each nan squad's superstitions is that of skipper Zoe Aldcroft. She stows a mini knitted figurine of legendary England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, made for her by a friend's grandma erstwhile Aldcroft was a teenager, successful her kit container for each game.

And conscionable for illustration Wilkinson, she is now a Rugby World Cup winner.