Ellie Kildunne may have provided the magic as England dispatched France to reach the World Cup final but Megan Jones insists defence will be the most effective weapon against Canada.
Kildunne produced two electrifying finishes in the 35-17 semi-final victory but it was without the ball that the Red Roses truly excelled, defying a French onslaught by making 200 tackles compared to their opponents’ 88.
Canada’s stunning upset of New Zealand has set-up an intriguing main event at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, but Jones says they will face a defence that has been energised by limiting Les Bleues to three tries.
“That defensive shift sums us up because we’ve got so much heart and desire in this team. The number of tackles shows how much we want to put our bodies on the line,” said England’s outside centre and vice captain
“I asked one thing from the girls and that was to choose how hard you’re going to hit and choose how you’re going to inspire the person next to you. That’s always important to us.
“Some of the tackles we were putting in were outstanding from the girls. We were relentless and that is exactly what we want to show.
“We have got a lot of heart, a lot of passion and we want to wear our heart on our sleeve as much as possible.
“We can take a lot of confidence from our defensive sets because I think defence is going to win us championships.
“We are going to retain the ball as much as we can but we can also feel confident not having the ball.”
Kildunne showed her athleticism and killer instinct to touch down in each-half, the second try seeing her evade four tackles in a thrilling diagonal sprint across the pitch.
“She’s bit of a ball hog!” Jones joked.
“I love Ellie, she’s my room mate so we have a good relationship. She is outstanding and has elevated the women’s game by herself.
“We have got to remember it’s a team sport, but we need to get her into the game as much as we can and keep elevating her.
“She’s outstanding every time she attacks the ball, she is such a triple threat. She is so hard to defend and I feel lucky to have her on my team.”
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