World Cup favourites England extended their record-breaking run of wins to 28 with a crushing final pool C victory over an outgunned Springbok Women in Auckland on Sunday.

England led only 5-0 at the end of the first quarter as the South Africans demonstrated the progress that the team has made. The scrum was holding its own and No 8 Aseza Hele again showed herself as one of the most formidable ball carriers in the game.

But two yellow cards in the first half – and a penalty count that racked up to 12-4 in the opening period (and 16-7 by the final whistle) – gave England the field position to demonstrate their outstanding maul efficiency.

Twelve of 13 tries for the English were scored by their forwards, with hooker Connie Powell and lock Rosie Galligan both scoring hat-tricks, as the Boks had no answer to the lineout drive.

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Six of England’s tries came from the phase and the final score of 75-0 wiped away the memory of a bright start from South Africa.

Earlier, unbeaten Canada and history-making Italy also confirmed  their quarter-final berths after ending group play with clinical wins.

Canada used their forward power to see off the United States 29-14 while Italy’s 21-8 defeat of Japan set up a maiden appearance in the tournament playoffs.

The Canadians finished top of Pool B and will be second seeds in the knockout phase behind New Zealand.

Both teams notched three bonus-point wins but the tournament hosts boasted a superior points differential in topping Pool A.

Despite losing, the US will advance as one of the best third-placed teams.

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Photo: @WomenBoks/Twitter