Red Roses: Ibiza, film premiere, Lady Gaga and PWR – what followed World Cup glory

Saracens’ Sophie De Guidi, who won Canada’s World Player of the Year award, also left after the World Cup final and traveled to Portugal with three of her international teammates.

“We stopped everything, but when I got back to London and turned my phone back on, there was a flood of messages, showing excitement about the whole World Cup,” she said.

“So, I feel a big mix of things, pride in how successful the tournament was but also devastation, disappointment and frustration with the way we played in the final. It’s a funny feeling to have those two feelings at the same time.

“We now have another four years of fuel, so there is a lot to look forward to.”

De Goede says the PWR was key to Canada reaching its final and future hopes.

She was one of five Saracens players in Canada’s final World Cup squad, with six others from Round 23 also playing in England’s top flight.

Saracens coach Alex Austerberry was part of Canada’s backroom staff during the World Cup campaign as well.

“PWR is a strong league globally and we want to be able to play in the top leagues and continue to improve and learn winning habits,” De Guidi said.

“We needed to learn how to win big, difficult matches when there are a lot of fans in the stadium.”

De Goede says the level of fan interest has been “helpful” in improving the quality of rugby, both individually for players and as a team.

“We hope we have helped PWR continue to grow and become stronger as a league and provide a better product on the field,” she added.

In the wake of lifting the World Cup, England coach John Mitchell stressed that the league must provide a conveyor belt of talent for the Red Roses.

“I would love to see 100 English girls playing in PWR, and I would love to see more playing because then I would have the opportunity to pick more,” he said.

He added: “The league is a great competition because we play against other world-class players, but we have to keep in mind that we are still working on developing our English players.”

Clubs are required to have an average of 13 England-qualified players in their 23-strong squads.

However, De Goede has been joined by other international stars in the league this summer, with Irish back-row Aoife Wafer moving to Harlequins, Laetitia Royer arriving from Canada to Saracens, Scottish winger Rhona Lloyd signing for sale, and New Zealand duo Alana Borland and Georgia Ponsonby. They are associated with Trailfinders.

Loughborough Lightning captain and English back-row Daisy Hibbert-Jones made her PWR debut as a teenager for Firwood Waterloo.

She believes foreign stars have raised the standard of the league and also raised the age profile of the English players appearing in it.

“The international players make our league really exciting, they bring a different kind of rugby and new faces,” she said.

“I think the rules around English-eligible players mean you have to invest in your pathway and young players otherwise there will be no longevity in the team.

“Before, people might get involved for the first time at a younger age, but that doesn’t happen as much now with how professional the league has become.”