Emily Rudge shines for England as they see off Papua New Guinea

England Women kicked off their historic tour of Papua New Guinea with a hard-fought 24-10 win over the Orchids in front of a near-7,000 crowd in Goroka.

Captain Emily Rudge became the first England Women's international to score four tries in a Test match while Danielle Anderson and Rachel Thompson were also on the scoresheet.

It took more than 20 minutes for Rudge to break the deadlock, powering over from a short pass from Saints team-mate Jodie Cunningham - and the pair combined again for Rudge's second to establish an 8-0 half-time lead.

The 28-year-old schoolteacher became the fourth England Women's player to score an international hat-trick with an eye catching third which extended the lead in the second half, and Anderson then crashed over to take the tourists further ahead.

The Orchids hit back through Shirley Joe from acting half-back, but Rudge then took Anderson's pass to score her fourth, and Thompson rounded off the England scoring after good work from Charlotte Booth - although Ua Rave claimed a second for the Orchids late on.

The teams now travel down from the Eastern Highlands for next Saturday's Second Test at the Oil Search Stadium in Port Moresby, in a fixture which will be played before the men's Test between Great Britain and the Kumuls.