England will learn from 9s defeats says Castleford Tigers ace Roche

England began the tournament, at Parramatta Eels’ Bankwest Stadium, with an impressive 25-4 win over Papua New Guinea on Friday.

But the following two matches, against the world’s top nations, proved much tougher as the Lionesses were crushed 42-4 by Australia and 33-4 against New Zealand.

The Kiwis went on to beat Australia in the final and Roche reckons England - who will now return home before their tour of Papua New Guinea next month - have been given an indication of what they need to do to catch up.

The 2018 Woman of Steel said: “I think it [the Nines tournament] has been really good for us and we can take a lot away from it.

“I think the girls dug deep for each other, there’s lots to take into training and hopefully we can come back bigger and stronger for the World Cup.”

Roche added: “It was my first time coming up against the Aussies and Kiwis and I have taken a lot away from my own personal game. I’ve learned a lot about the girls I am playing alongside as well.”

England have a youthful squad and Roche believes they could be a “special” team in the 2021 World Cup.

“We are all young and we’ve got so much more to learn and to improve,” she said.

“I think we will be a much stronger team, we can improve so much more.”