England take on Fiji in their opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
England are the favourites to lift the tophy in New Zealand and are expected to sweep aside the Fijians, after three successive Grand Slams and crushing back-to-back wins against world champions New Zealand a year ago.
The Black Ferns, France and Canada are the closest rivals, but England dominate the world rankings and their head coach Simon Middleton recently admitted that anything over than victory in the final would be failure.
England have won all of their past 24 matches, while Fiji have lost the only two they have played this year, to Australia and Canada.
Here is everything you need to know.
When is the match?
England vs Fiji is being played at Eden Park and kicks off at 4.45am UK time on Saturday morning.
How to watch
England vs Fiji will be shown live on TV in the UK via ITV 1, and the match can be streamed onlien via the ITV Hub.
England squad
Ellie Kildunne; Lydia Thompson, Emily Scarratt, Helena Rowland, Claudia MacDonald; Zoe Harrison, Leanne Infante; Vickii Cornborough, Amy Cokayne, Sarah Bern, Zoe Aldcroft, Abbie Ward, Alex Matthews, Sadia Kabeya, Sarah Hunter (captain).
Who are England’s star players?
Reigning world player of the year Zoe Aldcroft has been a standout for England’s pack, showing a high work rate centred around carrying and tackling. Prop Sarah Bern was devastating in the recent Six Nations where her pace and power in attack reached new heights. Marlie Packer thrives at the breakdown and covers every blade of grass, while alongside her in the back row is captain Sarah Hunter who provides 135 caps worth of experience. And there is firepower behind the scrum where Emily Scarratt operates as a key component of the attack and wing Abby Dow, who has made a rapid recovery from a broken leg, excels as a try-scoring wing.
