England's 27-0 victory over Ireland on Friday capped an enthralling opening day at Women's Rugby World Cup 2010, the sixth edition since the inaugural competition in 1991.
Before the hosts recorded a bonus point victory, Canada, Australia, USA, New Zealand and France also recorded wins in front of a sell-out crowd at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford, England.
Amongst the crowd were Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kelly Sotherton and RFU Head of Elite Rugby Rob Andrew, with the latter believing the tournament couldn't have got off to a better start.
"It was a great start to the tournament wasn't it? A lot of hard work has gone into this from an organisation point of view," said the former Engand fly half.
"To put it on at this venue, a terrific new venue, with great pitches, a sell-out crowd, and a good win for England, all in all I think everyone involved can sleep easily.
"The Women's Game deserves a huge amount of credit. When you are involved in growing something and you see it come to fruition like this people need to take a lot of credit for it. And the players, look at the commitment and great skill. Congratulations to everybody."
Andrew witnessed Fiona Pocock, Katherine Merchant, Amy Turner and Maggie Alphonsi all cross for tries to secure an important bonus point in the race for the semi finals and now England turn their attention to matches with Kazakhstan on Tuesday and USA four days later on 28 August.
ENGLAND V IRELAND HIGHLIGHTS>>
Although there is added pressure as host nation to perform, Andrew believes Gary Street's side can build momentum from a difficult opening fixture.
"It was a tough game for them [England] and actually they will look back on it as a good start to the competition because it was a tough game, Ireland played well and made them work really hard.
"The breakdown was very competitive and it was a really tough game. They kept at it and won comfortably in the end but were made to work really hard which is no bad thing. USA will be strong, but hopefully the girls can build on this.
WRWC set-up adds camaraderie
"You might say it will be their toughest pool game and actually a tricky game for the first game of a tournament. The first game is always difficult, there is expectation on the team so they need to get used to that. But as we have seen if the momentum builds in tournaments hopefully they can carry on and go all the way to the final."
Another VIP enjoying the atmosphere and action at Surrey Sports Park on Friday was English heptathlete Kelly Sotherton.
Bronze medallist at the 2004 Olympic Games and gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Sotherton praised the Olympic style set-up the players are enjoying at this tournament with the facilities and accomodation.
"In a team event because the team are around if someone is down you can get together and keep everyone up. It really helps the camaraderie," added Sotherton.
"If all the other teams are staying together you get a bit of banter going on. Obviously there are a lot of friends within all the teams so when you are within close proximity it keeps the teams buzzing and makes the atmosphere fantastic and helps the camaraderie."
You can also watch full match replays and highlights of all the opening fixtures from Women's Rugby World Cup 2010 on-demand via the official tournament website rwcwomens.com.
