England coach Gary Street hailed their achievement of winning the World Cup describing it as an "amazing feeling".

Street's side suffered the heartbreak of losing 13-10 to the Black Ferns four years ago but they were triumphant in Sunday's final as they defeated Canada 21-9 with Danielle Waterman and Emily Scarratt scoring tries.

"I feels a bit like a dream, it's quite surreal and I think I'll wake up in a minute! It's a pretty amazing feeling and I'm just so proud of everyone involved - it's a really special group, we've been on a long journey but to have that trophy makes it worthwhile," Street said. "The support we've had has been amazing and it's a huge relief to be able to deliver. Huge credit to Canada as well - I thought that they were excellent and made it extremely tough for us."

England's captain Katy Mclean missed two of the pool stage games through injury but she played a key role in their semi-final triumph over Ireland and the final win. And post-match she paid tribute to the team's defence and to kicker Scarratt who finished the game with 16 points.

"It's everything that I have probably ever dreamed of," Mclean said. "You start tournaments like a World Cup and you dare to hope. Especially with how England have done in World Cups, you don't hope too much.

"This squad of people have been the most special I have ever worked with and today they finally got their reward. It is testament to how hard this squad has worked that at 11-9, when we could have self-combusted, our defence stayed strong. Emily Scarratt was phenomenal today.

"She kicked her goals under extreme pressure and then she goes and finishes off her try in the corner. That's what England rugby is about. It is a team performance but you need standout performers."

And for Street he hopes the World Cup win and the tournament as a whole, a competition that saw both the semi-final and finals sell out, could help propel the women's game on to the next level.

"I think this could be the tipping point for women's rugby worldwide," he said. "I think that people have seen that XVs is a spectacle.

"Sevens has its profile with the Olympics and all that, but there is nothing like an old-fashioned Test match between two XVs. This tournament has made everyone realise that women's XVs is one hell of a game and the standard has been incredible."