England become first-ever WXV1 champions with 33-12 victory against New Zealand in Auckland

England claimed glory in the inaugural WXV1 tournament as they secured a 33-12 victory over world champions New Zealand in Auckland.

The Red Roses finished the tournament as the only undefeated team in the top tier.

New Zealand beat England in the 2022 Women's World Cup final, but three early tries from Alex Matthews, Lark Atkin-Davies and Sarah Bern set them on the path to revenge.

Matthews scored off the back of the scrum, while Benn finished a long move with several phases and Atkin-Davies was another scorer within the first 23 minutes, as the Black Ferns were unable to match their usual high standards early on.

There were hopes for New Zealand to pull off a comeback when Kennedy Simon and Katelyn Vaha'akolo scored for the home side as they looked to put their early wobble behind them.

That cut the deficit to just seven points.

However England hit back through Morwenna Talling and Zoe Aldcroft, reasserting their dominance to become the first winners of the new format of international rugby.

Aldcroft’s score meant New Zealand would need to overhaul England’s score by more than seven points, and score at least four tries in the process, to claim the title.

Victory also means that England will sit atop the world rankings above New Zealand.

Their success concluded a strong series for home nations sides in the new format, as Scotland and Ireland won the WXV2 and WXV3 tournaments respectively after also claiming three wins from three.

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