England's hopes of winning the women's World Cup on home soil next year are burning bright following Saturday's 10-3 victory over New Zealand at Twickenham. It was the first time in eight years that England have beaten the Black Ferns, the traditional powerhouses of the women's game. The home coach, Gary Street, paid tribute to his captain, Catherine Spencer, who led by example on her 50th Test appearance and scored the game's only try after 24 minutes. "We won this game because of our physicality," said Street. "Our defence was tremendous and we really believed in ourselves. Catherine Spencer put on one of the great Twickenham performances. She is a tremendous athlete and brilliant leader of this team."

The historic win was witnessed by a record crowd of 12,500, despite poor weather. The fly-half Katy McLean converted Spencer's try and contributed a second-half drop-goal as the home side defied the wet, slippery conditions to ensure the two-Test series finished level at 1-1.