YORK Valkyrie star Grace Field has insisted that England are “quietly confident” about their chances of winning the World Cup.

England qualified for the semi-finals of the prestigious competition after two games in Group ‘A’, beating Brazil 72-4 and Canada 34-12.

Field scored England’s fourth try against Brazil, which so far is her only try of the World Cup.

A 42-4 win over Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, a game that Field began as an interchange, ensured that England finished atop their group, taking six points from an available six.

They will now take on New Zealand, who have won the World Cup three times in the past, in the semi-finals on Monday (7.30pm kick-off) at the LNER Community Stadium.

The Black Ferns placed second in Group ‘B’ after losing their final game 10-8 to Australia, missing out on top spot as they did so.

Speaking to Forty20, Field enthused: “I think we are in a position to win it this year.

“I think, for us, the year off with COVID has done us a real service in that it’s given us an extra year to gel as a team, being able to bring in more players.

“Players who might not have played last year at the World Cup, being allowed an opportunity now to play at the World Cup, such as Danielle Anderson, a fantastic prop forward.

“This time last year, she’d have been just recovering from ACL surgery, but now she’s tearing up a World Cup.

“I think we’re definitely very confident, quietly confident within our camp. I think there’s a lot of expectation on us but we’re quite happy to rise to that expectation and hopefully meet it.

“It’s been fantastic, every step of the way has been quite magical. I know they say playing in a World Cup is special, but it’s special not just for the on-field reasons.

“The off-field (reasons), you really get to cement yourself into good friendships across different clubs.

“For example, people you haven’t really spoken to before, you get to make new friendships, but you get to strengthen pre-existing friendships.

“It helps that we’re a very cohesive group, there’s no pettiness.”

Should England beat New Zealand, they would face the winner of Australia v Papua New Guinea at Old Trafford on Saturday, November 19.

“I think we’ve performed better than we expected,” noted Field. “The systems are sort of clicking now so I think it’s just fine-tuning now.

“If we can front up and muscle up to players like the Kiwis and the Jillaroos, we’re more than in a position to be world champions.”