Sarah McKenna© (Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)

England Women head coach Simon Middleton enjoyed a "solid start" to his XV-a-side reign as his new-look side eased to a 39-10 defeat of the USA in Canada.

Sarah McKenna was the star of the show on Saturday as she ran in two of the seven tries, while there was also a score for debutant Rachel Lund.

Centre and vice-captain Amber Reed added two conversions as Middleton's side made a positive start to the three-game Rugby Super Series.

"This was a solid start with a performance that had lots of positives as well as lots still to come," Middleton said of his first game in charge.

"We have worked hard on our decision making and focused on playing with heads up and attacking the space. I thought we did this extremely well, particularly in the first half.

"We did look a bit rusty and at times our execution just fell a touch short of what we were looking for, but given the lack of time we have had together this is to be expected. Having said that we pulled some really good passages of play together particularly in the first half and scored some excellent team tries.

"It was also great to get our two new caps Lark Davies and Rachael Lund on the field and what a dream start with Rachael scoring with her first touch of the ball after a line-out thrown by Lark."

Next up for England is the rather more daunting prospect of New Zealand, comfortable 40-22 winners over hosts Canada on Saturday, at Red Deer Titans Park on Wednesday. 

Middleton added: "Recovery will be the key now as we will undoubtedly face a sterner test against a New Zealand side that dispatched Canada convincingly on Saturday without really looking at their best.

"We'll be looking to field some of our more experienced players on Wednesday to add fresh legs and build on a good start."

The Rugby Super Series then heads to Edmonton for the final round of fixtures next Sunday, with England taking on Canada and New Zealand facing the USA.