Connie Powell scores hat-trick for England on first Rugby World Cup start to set up quarter-final with Australia

Brian Powell admitted his daughter Connie’s first Rugby World Cup start could not have gone any better as the Hadleigh-raised hooker scored a hat-trick as England topped Pool C to set up a quarter-final with Australia.

The former Sudbury youth was one of two players to end with three tries from the 13, along with Rosie Galligan, as the Red Roses stormed to a 75-0 win over South Africa in Auckland yesterday.

With qualification to the knockout stages already secured, it was a game which had seen head coach Simon Middleton ring the changes.

And with 22-year-old Powell having also scored coming on as a replacement in the tournament-starting 84-19 demolition of New Zealand, her father hopes it puts her name in contention to feature again in Sunday’s quarter-final.

“It really couldn’t have gone gone any better on her first World Cup start,” said Brian who is flying out to Auckland this week with wife Ruth to be in the same Waitakere Stadium this weekend.

“She was understandably incredibly pleased when we spoke to her but also very tired.”

The match saw the Gloucester-Hartpury player touch down from a driving maul just before half-time as England ran up a 29-0 lead.

A carbon copy of that try followed for Powell within a minute of the second half getting under way.

And the former Hadleigh schoolgirl completed her hat-trick in the final 10 minutes, coming off the back of another well-driven maul.

It saw Powell double her senior international try tally to six in seven caps and extend England’s record-breaking run of Test wins to 28 in a row. The Red Roses' last defeat came in July 2019 when they lost to New Zealand in San Diego.

Tournament favourites England will be out to continue their record of reaching the semi-final in each Rugby World Cup when they take to the pitch against Australia on Sunday.