Tara-Jane Stanley scored a second-half hat-trick and England secured their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup with a comfortable 54-4 victory over Canada in Wigan.

Stanley, the current Super League Woman of Steel, also scored 10 with the boot as England scored 11 attempts, including two goals for Leah Burke and 19-year-old World Cup debutant Hollie Dodd.

England face Papua New Guinea on Wednesday night, with a place top of the group at stake as they expect a much tougher test in the semi-finals.

With his long-term plans in mind, England manager Craig Richards brought in the seven squad members who missed out on the opening win against Brazil, including debuting Zoe Hornby from the Leeds Rhinos.

Their cause was helped by a shocking Habs start when Karina Gauto spoiled Stanley’s kick, allowing Burke to slip through in the opening 40 seconds.

However, the Ravens bounced back under heavy pressure, support Ada Okonkwo stopped near the line and forward Maddy Aberg also nearly leveled the score.

England doubled their lead when Dodd came on in the 17th minute, followed by Stanley’s first conversion and there was no turning back for the visitors.

The Wigan Georgia Jones winger marked his World Cup debut on home soil when he swung past a corner after Courtney Winfield-Hill’s clever shot, so Dodd continued his memorable afternoon by moving up to second.

With the Canadians visibly deflated, fullback Fran Goldthorpe twisted for an excellent one-on-one attempt before Georgia Roche drilled through the middle for a 30-0 halftime lead.

The stage was set for Stanley to extend England’s lead after the break and she took advantage of a dismal Ravens back line to cross twice in the first four minutes of the second half.

But just when the Ravens seemed to cave, they invoked a moment to remember when forward Petra Woods completed a rare pressure spell to land and claim her first points of the game.

Normal serve quickly resumed when Carrie Roberts scored England’s ninth goal, before Stanley completed his hat trick by hitting two Canadian tacklers to touch down the right.

Burke crossed into the corner to complete England’s score in another powerful performance that clearly wowed the crowd at DW Stadium.