England 42 Papua New Guinea 4: Leeds Rhinos stars impress as hosts show class and bravery in tough hit-out

PNG tore into the tournament hosts from the start and left their mark in a bruising encounter that was more competitive than the scoreline suggested.

Jodie Cunningham – back in the side after a rest last weekend – played through the pain with a nasty shiner and her team-mates were just as brave in another encouraging performance.

The 42-4 win confirmed top spot for England and a semi-final date with the losers of Thursday's mouthwatering clash between Australia and New Zealand.

Craig Richards is well aware his team must find another level or two to go toe to toe with the southern hemisphere powerhouses but the signs are positive.

The outstanding Courtney Winfield-Hill was a class apart, while Leeds Rhinos team-mate Fran Goldthorp enhanced her burgeoning reputation in a performance full of elusive running.

Above all, it was a true team performance that proved England can play tough and smart.

The final night of World Cup action at Headingley got off to a dramatic start as Canada edged tournament debutants Brazil 22-16 in a gripping contest.

Edna Santini lit up the Group A dead rubber with a stunning 90-metre interception try but the Amazonas were denied a first-ever World Cup point by a last-gasp Alanna Fittes effort.

Canada had little time to bask in only their second World Cup win – on the field at least – with England and PNG ready to do battle.

Richards' side were crying out for a testing hit-out going into the semi-finals and they got one.

Papua New Guinea's strong ball carriers made life uncomfortable for England's middles early on and they were just as uncompromising in defence.

The hosts knew they were in for a tough evening from the moment Shona Hoyle was forced into a mistake carrying the ball back from the kick-off.

PNG turned the screw and were celebrating the opening try on three minutes when Martha Molowia crashed over in the corner following a shift to the left.

England warmed to the task and carved out several chances for winger Caitlin Beevers amid the barrage of bone-rattling hits.

Three times England appeared to have the numbers on their right edge but on each occasion Papua New Guinea scrambled to deny Beevers in the corner.

It took two moments of magic from Rhinos star Winfield-Hill to turn the scoreline on its head.

The veteran half-back showed expert vision and execution to put Leah Burke over in the corner with a superb cross-field kick and then provided the killer pass to give Goldthorp the space to send Amy Hardcastle in.

Two tries in five minutes and a sizable psychological blow dealt to the Orchids.

Papua New Guinea did not go away physically at any stage but they struggled with England's speed and superior quality.

Richards' team landed another telling blow three minutes before the break, Tara Stanley powering over after good hands from Hollie Dodd.

Stanley, who scored a hat-trick in the big win over Canada on Saturday, nailed the touchline conversion to make it 14-4 at the break, a reflection of a taxing opening 40 minutes.

Winfield-Hill was the star of the show in the first half and she remained unfazed by PNG's ferocious tackling after the interval.

After combining with Burke once already, Winfield-Hill sent over two more perfectly weighted cross-field kicks to give her winger a hat-trick.

In between Burke tries, Vicky Whitfield ran a superb line to hit Winfield-Hill's pass at speed and charge over.

Papua New Guinea were down to 12 men when Burke completed her hat-trick after losing Carol Humeu to the sin bin for repeated infringements but their intensity did not waver.

They were outclassed, however, and rarely ventured out of their own half once England got on top.

The 5,471 supporters inside Headingley were treated to two tries in the final five minutes as England finished with a flourish.

Beevers put her first-half near misses behind her to dive over in the corner and the last word went to the powerful Hardcastle on the back of another slaloming run from the hugely impressive Goldthorp.

Meanwhile, England's wheelchair team warmed up for the semi-finals with a 121-0 thrashing of Ireland.

Joe Coyd and James Simpson helped themselves to four tries each, while Jack Brown and Nathan Collins scored hat-tricks in a stunning 21-try rout at the Copper Box Arena.

The victory confirmed top spot for England, although they must wait for Thursday's final Group B games to discover their semi-final opponents.

Australia joined the hosts in the last four courtesy of a 52-32 win over Spain.