No-one in the England squad has more World Cup experience than Emily Scarratt.
The 35-year-old centre, lining up for her fifth campaign, is the only survivor from the last time the tournament was in England.
“A home World Cup is massive,” she said earlier this month.
“I was part of the 2010 one. Times were very different then, but it was a small taste of what a home World Cup can be like.”
Back then, the pool stages were all staged at Surrey Sports Park. The final was staged at The Stoop, Harlequins’ home ground.
“At the time it was unbelievable,” added Scarratt. “We had increased media attention, increased everything. The country got behind us and we had never seen crowds like it.
“I will never forget getting off the bus for the World Cup final in 2010 and hearing the crowd. It was probably the first time that we had a crowd that was big enough to hear.
“I remember the bus door opened and we all just looked around at each other and said ‘this is actually mega’.”
The crowd for that 13-10 defeat by New Zealand was 13,253, a record for a women’s match at the time.
As Scarratt says: Fifteen years on, times are different.
Surrey Sports Park is now where Harlequins’ women’s side train, rather than where international tournaments are played.
The Stoop’s main role on World Cup final day this time will be for car parking and hospitality as 82,000 people flood across the Chertsey Road to Twickenham.
When England step off the bus outside the Stadium of Light on Friday, they will hear the volume of love and expectation around them. They will get a taste long before the doors open.
“I don’t think any of us will understand how supported we will be until we get going,” said Scarratt.
The game has changed. Now it is up to England to change the World Cup’s usual gut-punch ending.
