The attendance record for the Women’s Rugby World Cup was also broken on the opening night as 42,723 watched England beat USA in Sunderland.

England’s opening Women’s Rugby World Cup match against the USA peaked at nearly 2.5m as records tumbled during the competition’s opening weekend. The 69-7 victory over the States was watched by an average 1.

We tend to be bombarded with bluster on the eve of big events as marketeers proclaim how special the coming weeks should be. But there is a tangible feeling that this Rugby World Cup, which should finish with a final in front of over 80,