Meet the England star who is the 'glue' binding Women's Rugby World Cup bid together after Red Roses made dominant start by hammering USA

In every successful sports team, there are players who dominate the headlines and others who are perhaps under-appreciated for their work.

England's Red Roses are no different. 

Their electric back three of World Rugby player of the year Ellie Kildunne and wings Abby Dow and Jess Breach often take most of the plaudits. 

Kildunne and Breach both scored twice as England started their bid for Women's World Cup glory with an 11-try hammering of USA in Sunderland on Friday.

Dow also crossed. Kildunne was named player of the match.

But in another comprehensive victory for John Mitchell's side, the tenacity and physicality of Megan Jones stood out. Centre Jones will be one of England's most important figures in the coming weeks, even if sometimes she goes below the radar.

Her talent is well recognised by coach Mitchell and her team-mates, however. 

She is a 'glue' player, the sort every team need.

During England's poor opening quarter, Jones fired up her side with her physicality in defence.

One monster hit left her American opponent Georgie Perris-Redding in a crumpled heap, forcing her from the field. Jones has plenty to offer in attack, too.

And her performances for England over the past 12 months must be considered all the more remarkable given she lost both her parents in quick succession last year.

England's win was predictably one-sided. 

While the occasion was a fantastic advert for the female game, before a Women's World Cup record crowd of 42,723, the reality was England still dished out a beating despite a rusty first 20 minutes.

'We were a little bit scrappy in the first half,' said Dow. 'I'm sure there were a lot of emotions. We slowly managed to warm ourselves up and get going.'

England won't be tested properly until the semi-finals, if at all. 

The next two pool-stage games, with Samoa and Australia, are likely to result in further mammoth scorelines.

But that is not England's fault. 

Their strength in depth makes them formidable opponents.

'The tournament will get tougher,' said Mitchell. 

'But there are some really good signs. The girls will rise to that challenge.'

In the first half, England struggled on restarts and there were too many spilled balls. To their credit, they were much better in the second 40, even if USA wilted.

'There is lots to take into next week,' said the outstanding Kildunne. 'But to play in front of such a crowd and deliver the game we did is something I'm very proud of.

'We're going to keep on getting stronger. 

'We've set a standard for ourselves, but we expect to get better as the games progress. It's a really good start. But it is just the start.'