A hat-trick of tries by Joanne Watmore helped England beat Russia 72-0 in their World cup opener on Thursday.

The Halton women and girls centre was in unstoppable form, alongside prop forward Amanda Donaldson from Copeland Wildcats in Cumbria who scored twice.

Head coach Brenda Dobek said: "I am pleased with the performance", adding there was room for improvement.

It is a brutal schedule for England who next play France on Saturday and hosts Australia two days later.

The World Cup final will be played as a curtain raiser to the men's semi-final at Brisbane's Suncorp stadium on Saturday 15 November.

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