England star lays out lofty Las Vegas ambitions ahead of historic Jillaroos Test

England Women’s star Shona Hoyle has promised to give the Australian Jillaroos a run for their money when the two teams meet in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The St Helens prop is the third-most experienced player currently in the squad and was part of the 2017 World Cup side that lost 38-0 against the Australians.

The two teams haven’t met since that encounter eight years ago, meaning Saturday’s Las Vegas showdown will serve as a good indicator of whether the gap between the two has narrowed.

Hoyle, who has 20 caps for England, has only one goal in mind ahead of the game. “A win,” she told Love Rugby League. “That’s all I’m going there for. I’m not going there for a holiday. I’m going to play rugby.

“The late nights, early mornings, the usual – all of us will say that life has been on hold just preparing for this game. I think it’s going to be fast, energetic. We’re going there to fight and win and battle on the field for 70 minutes.”

England are heading to America in good form, losing just one of their last 12 matches. That sole defeat came against New Zealand in the 2021 World Cup semi-final – a side that went on to suffer a 54-4 defeat in the final against Australia at Old Trafford.

As the current world champions, the Australian Jillaroos will be seen as heavy favourites for Saturday’s encounter. Nevertheless, Hoyle revealed there is a lot of belief in the England camp.

She said: “We’re really excited because we have belief in our systems in England.

“The coaching staff behind the scenes have worked extremely hard. We’re an athletic, energetic team, and we’re just buzzing to go against them.”

England’s match with Australia will be shown live on Sky Sports, as will the three other fixtures from Las Vegas.