England wanted to make a statement in the opening match of their World Cup and it is fair to say they pulled it off. On Friday, the Red Roses blew the United States away at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland (69-7).

In touch until the half-hour mark, the Americans lost ground at the end of the first half (28-7) and were left completely under water after the break, shipping five tries between the 41st minute and the hour mark alone.

With the bonus point in the bag by half-time, the team-mates of the excellent Ellie Kildunne, who scored a try (35th minute) and was named player of the match, duly rolled out their rugby after the restart, leaving nothing but crumbs for opponents who saw very little of the ball. In the end, eleven tries scored and a strong signal sent out by the host nation to the rest of the field.