Bristol No. 8 Catherine Spencer, who has led England to five successive 6 Nations titles, will again captain England.

Spencer along with Saracens star Alphonsi are among eight players who have World Cup experience with England desperate to avenge final defeats to New Zealand in both the 2002 and 2006 tournaments.

But having defeated the All Ferns on home turf last Autumn, 26-year-old Alphonsi says those sort of results have filled Street’s side with all the confidence they need.

“This will be my second World Cup and I am really looking forward to going out there and improving on last time out,” she said.

“The first time I was a young player and the squad as a whole was quite young and I am still gutted that we didn’t win it and want to make up for that.

“We were playing very well and were confident of doing well in the final but we lost out to New Zealand and it was hard to take. But now we are four years down the line as a team and I believe we can go one better.”

Street’s squad boasts over 700 caps between them and Saracens hooker Amy Garnett with 86 caps and three World Cups behind her.

Lichfield’s Emily Scarratt is England’s youngest member at just 20, but she already has 16 tries in 18 games and it is this mix of youth and experience that fills Alphonsi with confidence.

She added: “There are a fair few of us in this squad that were in the 2006 squad so we can pass that experience onto the younger players.

“I think it is important to have a good mix in your squad and we have just that. There are the girls like me who have been in the squad before and know what to expect and have the motivation left over from four years ago.

“And then there are the new girls who go into it fresh and unfazed so everything is looking good.”