Rugby League World Cup: England hat-trick scorer Amy Hardcastle hails 'overwhelming' crowd

Hat-trick scorer Amy Hardcastle said the record-breaking crowd inspired England to a 72-4 win over Brazil in their World Cup opener at Headingley.

The crowd of 8,621 is the largest ever for a women's rugby league game in the northern hemisphere.

"It was overwhelming. It was so hard to come off at the end - you want to say thank you," said the St Helens centre.

"It is probably one of the best crowds I have played in front of just because of that volume."

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Hundreds of schoolchildren bolstered an impressive Tuesday afternoon crowd as the hosts scored 14 tries to register their second biggest international win against debutants Brazil - playing only their third match.

Australian-born Courtney Winfield-Hill also impressed with a hat-trick of tries, while Tara-Jane Stanley, Grace Field, Francesca Goldthorp, Tara Jones, Leah Burke and Olivia Wood also crossed over for the hosts as they revelled in front of a buoyant atmosphere underpinned by a six-piece samba band and hundreds of thundersticks, which boomed out from the stands.

"The atmosphere was outstanding," said captain Emily Rudge.

"The band and all the kids chanting for us was really incredible and just lifted us in the game and made it a special moment on home soil. We want to inspire the next generation. We hope some of the girls in the crowd are the future stars."

While England will take plenty of positives from their comprehensive victory, the final whistle also saw Brazil's players dance in the Leeds rain as they celebrated Natalia Momberg's try, their first at a World Cup and a notable landmark in the country's short rugby league history.

Brazil captain Maria Graf said her team, who have only played in front of crowds of less than 200, would take pride in their performance and journey to reach the tournament having only played their first international in 2018.

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"For us it doesn't matter about the score, we are happy because we are making history in the World Cup," said Graf.

"It was tough but I think we were well prepared and we will focus on the next game now. It's our first time in the Rugby League World Cup and it's an honour to represent Brazil and South America.

"Our history here is still beginning and it was a special moment for us."

More to come from hosts

Meanwhile, England head coach Craig Richards intends to have seen all his squad in action by the end of Saturday's second group game against Canada, and stressed there is plenty of room for improvement with his side guilty of several unforced handling errors.

"I didn't want to give them [Brazil] anything," said Richards.

"I was excited to coach against them and they have a great future, but I'm not happy to give anybody anything.

"We are trying to win a tournament and it is about building so I'm over the moon. We need to improve week on week. At times we are going to have to be patient and build sets and be happy with repeat sets."

England face Canada at Wigan's DW Stadium before their final group-stage match back in Leeds against Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, 9 November.

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