Rugby League World Cup: England out to emulate Euros and Rugby World Cup success

England are eager to harness the feel-good factor sweeping through women's sport in the Rugby League World Cup.

England's football team won Euro 2022 as hosts in July and England play New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday (06:30 GMT).

England also face the Kiwis in Monday's Rugby League World Cup semi-finals.

"It's been massively inspirational to see other England teams get success, especially getting a 'home' win with the Euros," said captain Emily Rudge.

"That's definitely something that we want to replicate in this World Cup. Hopefully we can see some of the same benefits and it will inspire more people to get into the sport."

England centre Tara-Jane Stanley, 29, played youth football at Everton with Euro 2022 winner Alex Greenwood.

• Australia beat New Zealand 10-8 to avoid hosts England in semi-finals

This year's Woman of Steel then chose to focus on rugby league but followed her former team-mate and the Lionesses during the summer.

"It was great to support them, coming from a footballing background," she said. "Seeing what they did in the summer, we definitely want to embrace the opportunity to keep the ball rolling.

"Alex is such a humble person and knowing her from when she was younger, I know how much hard graft she put in. To see her finally succeed in what she wanted to do from such a young age was great to see and really inspirational.

"Some may say there's a bit of pressure on our shoulders, especially with the Red Roses being so successful and the Lionesses in the summer, but we're really just enjoying the moment and enjoying the World Cup, and we're really looking forward to Monday's game."

'The atmosphere's great, we've just got to embrace it'

While New Zealand is staging the Rugby World Cup, England are hosts for the Rugby League World Cup, as they were for Euro 2022.

Wednesday's 42-4 win over Papua New Guinea saw England maintain their 100% record and top their group.

And like the Lionesses in the summer, the rugby league team has felt the anticipation building among fans throughout the tournament, which is being shown live on the BBC.

"We had a bit of free time yesterday [Thursday] and a lot of the girls went into York," said Stanley. "I know that they were stopped for photos and whatnot.

"It's really humbling, the fact that people are appreciating the sport that we play in, and that we work really hard to represent.

"It's a great atmosphere and we want to take that through the tournament," she added. "I think we've just got to embrace it.

"The coaches speak a lot about 'living in the moment' and that's exactly what we're doing. We're really enjoying the experience and happy to be the faces on the field, representing the sport.

"Because the exposure is on the BBC, people come across it and are mesmerised by our sport. Still, there's people who've not really seen that women have done this before, and the fact they're enjoying it is fantastic to hear."

The semi-finals are being played as a double-header in York on Monday, with defending champions Australia playing Papua New Guinea (17:00 GMT) before England face New Zealand (19:30).

• Fixtures, results and BBC coverage times