World Cup Final: Preview Analysis

They were stretched more by Australia than anticipated - but they saw the game out and are now in the final everyone expected. That expectation, while warranted, cannot be easy for England, who have to shoulder the pressure of being the home team and the knowledge that they have had by far the best preparation of any side here.

There are plenty of positives for head coach Gary Street going into the final. England's scrum has been a big plus - they put Australia under massive pressure there in the first half - and if his first choice tight five are on the park for the entire 80, that's an area where they can try and assert some real dominance over New Zealand.

The form of some of his key standouts as well has got to be a boost. Big name players like Katy McLean, Danielle Waterman and Maggie Alphonsi are all delivering in this World Cup and if you're going to win this title you need all of your top players to be on their game. In this case they are - and England have looked a well rounded outfit all tournament.

Defensively they have also been sound - just two tries against them so far - and they stood up well to an Australian onslaught in their semi-final second half. They are certainly more battle-hardened than their opponents at this stage.

If they have a weakness it might only be turning pressure into points at key times - something they didn't do well enough against the Wallaroos when they should have and tied the game up far earlier than they did. If they get chances against the Black Ferns they will have to take every single one. Dominate possession and you simply must dominate the scoreboard.

They have also had some issues at the breakdown in early games, being penalised far too often- though they looked pretty solid here in their last match apart from Heather Fisher being binned late in the game for a needless offence.

McLean will hope her fine kicking form from hand stays with her for the final - you do not want to kick poorly to a back three as potent as the one New Zealand is likely to put out there. Expect Alphonsi to go after Anna Richards too. The celebrated Black Fern flyhalf can still cut it at this level but she's not as fast as she was - and England must make life hard for her to prevent the quality of ball she has been delivering to their dangerous runners.

England will also have to be patient. They tend to look frustrated when they go for long periods without scoring. Many of their players will remember only too well the hurt they felt after losing the last World Cup final to the same opposition. If they can unleash that pain on the pitch and play to their best they will have a great chance of unsettling New Zealand early on.

To win - England will also need to believe from 1-22 that they are good enough. Any lingering doubts need to be blanked out - and the home team must remember that they beat New Zealand last time out. They are good enough player for player, and with the crowd behind them they must summon their best ever 80 minutes of rugby to win the title.

They have hardly been tested at all in this World Cup. When I asked fullback Victoria Grant after their semifinal win what the hardest match her side have faced to date is, you could tell she was struggling to remember any game where they found the going tough. In the end she came up with Wales - a side who were dogged against them but who was hardly a threat going down 41-8.

In truth no team has got near New Zealand because from 1-15 they have simply been too good and they have batted off any contests with alarming ease. New Zealand's back three are in stunning form - Renne Wickliffe, Grant and Carla Hohepa are three of the finest attackers in the world and in front of them Anna Richards has stepped back in as if she was never away and is directing play nicely.

They have runners all over the park though and their forwards are as equipped to race down the touchlines as most of their backs.

Its hard to find a weakness in this side but there might be a nagging worry in Brian Evans mind that his side have hardly had to defend their lines at all. England will certainly come at them and he has yet to see how his side copes with pressure on their tryline. New Zealands scrum will also come under pressure thats where England hold a slight advantage I believe and if England can make life hard for them here, the high quality ball the Black Ferns backs are used to getting could be scarcer.

Another slight worry may be goal-kicking. Kelly Brazier missed a shot in front of the sticks on Wednesday night and has been literally hit and miss with the boot, and New Zealand have been passing around the kicking duties between Brazier, Emma Jenson and Rebecca Mahoney (when she comes on) a bit too often. Whoever is handed the task will need to be consistent. In a World Cup final every chance will have to be seized.

With all of this in mind, you have to think New Zealand remain favourites.

No-one has touched them in this competition and their style of play has been breathtaking to watch at times. The are a team high in confidence and if they soak up all of the likely England pressure early in the game you would have to back them to see it out. The battle of the backrow will be crucial you feel for New Zealand. England have a deservedly celebrated back row and Alphonsi's impact will need to be nullified early if New Zealand are going to win the scrap on the deck. Keep Alphonsi busy or slow her down and the speed of the ball out wide will be exactly as the Black Ferns lethal backs want it.

We could be in for a classic.