WXV: New Zealand v England Venue: Langley Event Centre, Canada Date: Sunday, 6 October Kick-off: 21:00 BST Coverage: Live on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app An unshakeable belief in one's own abilities. Some teams have an aura of invincibility; they just know they will never lose. New Zealand have played England in five Rugby World Cup finals and recorded five victories, building the belief that no-one is better than them.
But the tide is starting to turn. Two defeats in their last two games against the Red Roses, who are ranked the world's number one side, is far from invincible. The Black Ferns also suffered a shock loss to Ireland in their opening game of WXV1 , while England cruised to victory over the United States in Canada.
On Sunday the two sides meet in Vancouver in the second round of WXV, only three weeks after their last meeting at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium . For England, before next year's home World Cup, Sunday represents the perfect opportunity to damage the Black Ferns belief. England captain Marlie Packer has suffered back-to-back World Cup final defeats by New Zealand, the last coming in dramatic fashion at Eden Park in 2022.
Some revenge was dealt last year when the Red Roses prevailed in Auckland to win last year's WXV tournament , but the Black Ferns were missing key personnel because of injury. John Mitchell's side then ruthlessly blew away the world champions in the first half at the Allianz last month, strengthening England's case as favourit.