Skipper Yapp, a former Ludlow Ladies player who teaches in Bewdley, helped to set-up England’s opening try after the break following a blank first half.

The 26-year-old scrum-half now plays for Worcester and she set her team on the way to victory by recycling play to begin the attack that led to centre Kim Oliver’s opening try of the game.

It signalled a much stronger second period from the England team, who had struggled to find any momentum in the opening period at Ellerslie Park in Edmonton.

The scoring was completed with two penalties and a conversion for Shelley Rae and another try from Henley prop Rochelle Clarke in the dying minutes.

Skipper Yapp was replaced in the 80th minute by Wasps’ Amy Turner but is expected to be back to lead the side once again for their second match against South Africa on Monday. The game kicks off at 9.30pm BST.

Head coach Geoff Richards said: “We always knew this was going to be a difficult game. The US are a tough side who are very fit, strong and can boast a lot of pace.

“Despite being level pegging at half-time I wasn’t worried. Our fitness was beginning to show and we had settled into the game more so when we started to string moves together, we started to look a lot better. We controlled the ball a lot more in the second-half but there is certainly room for improvement.”