England send out a Rugby World Cup warning as Kay Wilson leads 10-try rout of Spain

England 56 Spain 5: Wilson's four tries including a 31-minute hat-trick - but it did not take long for New Zealand to rise to the challenge as they comfortably dispatched Wales

Kay Wilson scored four tries as England thrashed Spain 56-5 to begin their Rugby World Cup defence (Getty)

If England sent out a message by thrashing Spain in a 10-try 56-5 romp to raise the curtain on the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup, their captain, Sarah Hunter, had an ominous warning for the other 11 nations at this year’s global gathering in Ireland.

"We're happy to get a win under our belts. It's job one done. There's plenty for us to improve for our next game,” the No 8 Hunter told ITV straight after the rout at the UCD Bowl in Dublin.

"At times we did ok but we have to go away and work on some aspects. In tournament rugby you have to win every game in front of you."

There were plenty of positives for the defending champions. The 10 tries was an obvious starting point, four of which came from wing Kay Wilson – who bagged a hat-trick inside 31 minutes that gave England a 24-0 advantage before Spain managed to get themselves on the board. Outside centre Meg Jones put England ahead in the first minute that combined with Wilson’s triple score gave Simon Middleton’s side a commanding 24-5 lead at half-time, with Spain’s points coming from Diana Gasso with a try born out of the sevens-style that the Spanish employ.

If the first half was chastening enough for Spain, things didn’t get any easier as Middleton sent on centre Emily Scarratt, a front-runner for this year’s player of the year award, and it took her fewer than two minutes to cross the line to keep the scoreboard rolling, having been sent on for full-back Danielle Waterman.

Harriet Millar-Mills, Alex Matthews, Amy Cokayne and Lydia Thompson completed the rout as England kept Spain pointless in the second half, yet while they were left to pat each other on the back and analyse what went right and what needs to be worked on, New Zealand were busy issuing their response a stone’s throw away at Dublin’s Billings Park.

Wilson's four tries helped England cruise past Spain (Getty)

The Blacks Ferns were given the hardest pool of the top seeds, with Wales up first before matches with Canada and Hong Kong. Having lost to England fewer than two months ago, the four-time world champions will have been delighted to run eight tries past Wales in a 44-12 demolition that saw attacking rugby come to the fore.

Wales’ reply came through Sioned Harries and Melissa Clay, but by that points they were already 25-0 down and the Black Ferns – led by a Selica Winiata hat-trick – added an additional 19 points to cement their status as genuine challengers for the World Cup.

Selica Winiata scored a hat-trick for the Black Ferns against Wales (Getty)

England will not be alarmed though. They know the calibre of opponent will increase as the tournament goes on, which is why Middleton elected to leave out regulars Natasha Hunt, Marlie Packer and Tamara Taylor from his squad while Scarratt was limited to a 40-minute outing.

"Spain came at us and gave us some problems at times. It's pleasing to get that run out and get that training on the pitch,” Hunter, last year’s World Rugby player of the year, added.

"Since we've arrived here, our focus has been on us and we've not taken on the external pressure. It's one job at a time.”

Hunter believes England can still get better despite the rout (Getty)

The next job will be facing Italy on Sunday over at Billings Park, where they will also wrap up their pool stage when they take on the United States of America next Thursday before a likely semi-final appearance.