Women’s Rugby World Cup: 5 stars to watch out for

The Women’s Rugby World Cup begins in Sunderland on Friday when hosts England face the United States at the Stadium of Light.

The tournament concludes with the final at the Allianz Stadium on September 27th.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the key players to watch during this year’s competition.

The Spain international enjoyed a fantastic debut season in Premiership Women’s Rugby with Harlequins this season. The 20-year-old centre joined Quins from Barcelona at the start of the season and went on to score eight tries in 13 appearances.

Pena will be looking to carry on from that stellar season with Spain, who are ranked 13th in the world and face a tricky group with clashes against New Zealand, Ireland and Japan.

Tuipulotu has returned to the Wales team in time to compete in her second World Cup. The ball-carrying prop missed the Six Nations after undergoing hamstring surgery, but returned for Wales’ warm-up series against Australia, which they drew 1-1. World Cups are a family affair for Tuipulotu after her father Sione played at the men’s 1999 and 2007 editions.

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Still only 18 years old, New Zealand’s Sorensen-McGee has quickly become a much talked about talent. The full-back stood out in her first season of Super Rugby Aupiki, where she scored four tries during the competition and helped the Blues win the final against Matatu.

She then made her Black Ferns debut against Australia on May 10 and made an instant impression, scoring two tries and subsequently earned a maiden World Cup call-up.

All in for Gold