Hunt: pressure 'just what England wanted'

Red Roses given test heading into the quarter-final against Scotland this weekend

- Sarah Rendell

The pressure England faced in their final World Cup pool match against Australia was "exactly what the team wanted and something they didn't know they needed", according to the Red Roses scrum-half Natasha Hunt.

England were tested by Australia in Brighton on Saturday, with Jo Yapp's side scoring the first try of the contest and preventing their opponents from scoring until the 33rd minute. England ultimately solved the problems they encountered to pull away in the second half to win 47-7 and set up a quarter-final against Scotland on Sunday.

"It's exactly what we wanted," Hunt said. "Coming into it, we didn't know we needed that but I think, on reflection, it was fantastic for us. Australia really brought it, especially in that first half. We felt pressure we hadn't felt in the start of the tournament so far and it was really good for us to get that under our belt. Also to work out that rugby contest and come out with a scoreline like that is a testament to the girls."