The Women's Rugby Super Series tournament will be harder than a World Cup, according to England captain Sarah Hunter.

The top five teams in the world all meet in San Diego, with Grand Slam champions England opening their campaign against USA on 28 June.

Simon Middleton's side then face Canada, France and world champions New Zealand in the round-robin tournament.

"It's incredible for us to have this opportunity," Hunter told BBC Sport.

"In some respects you could say it is harder than a World Cup.

"You probably wouldn't play the top five sides in the world during a World Cup campaign, so it gives us a great chance to actually see where we are at."

England breezed to a Six Nations Grand Slam earlier in the year, but Hunter expects the standard of competition to be significantly higher in California this summer.

"We did have a great Six Nations, and we can only play the opposition in front of us, but now we are going halfway across the world and playing the best teams that there are," she added.

"It's our chance to find out where we are and how we then need to move on in terms of looking at the big picture [at the World Cup] in two years' time."

Middleton has named a 28-strong squad for the Super Series, with Hunter leading a group shorn of some experienced players through injury.

Fly-half Katy Daley-McLean, centre Rachael Burford and wing Jess Breach have all been declared unavailable.

However, centre Emily Scarratt is among those to return, while uncapped pair Chloe Edwards and Clara Nielsen are both named as Middleton looks to build depth into his squad.

"We need to be coming off the summer tour with a really clear picture of what our squad is starting to look like in terms of the World Cup," Middleton told BBC Sport.

"The Super Series will provide us with a perfect platform to see exactly where we are."

England's Super Series matches

Friday, 28 June: England v United States (21:00 BST)

Sunday, 7 July: Canada v England (01:15 BST)

Wednesday, 10 July: England v France (22:15 BST)

Sunday, 14 July: New Zealand v England (21:00 BST)

All matches will be played at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in San Diego except the final game against New Zealand, which will be played at San Diego State University's Torero Stadium.

SONOMA, Calif. – Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak raced to the overall victory in Sunday’s Pirelli GT4 America SprintX main event at Sonoma Raceway.

The No. 47 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR of Jason Hart (SprintX Pro-Am) would lead the field to the green flag for the final Pirelli GT4 America SprintX race of the weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

It was the No. 34 Murillo Racing Mercedes of Murillo and Szymczak (SprintX West Pro-Am) who would grab the headlines however, moving from fifth to first.

Just prior to the green flag, SprintX Race 1 winner Jeff Burton (SprintX West Am) would head to pitlane in the No. 91 Rearden Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 to change a tire that was losing air pressure.  The team would change the Pirelli rubber and get the car back on track without losing a lap to the leaders.  The team would fight back through the field and finish eighth overall.

Thirteen minutes into the race the No. 51 Panoz of Matt Keegan (SprintX Am) pulled along-side the No. 19 Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Gregory Liefooghe (SprintX Pro-Am) and would out-brake the BMW at the turn seven hairpin via the outside line for second place.  Keegan would then chase down the leading No. 47 NOLASPORT Porsche and grab the lead at the final hairpin one lap later.

Behind the leaders, the No. 33 Rearden Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Owen Trinkler (SprintX West Pro-Am) would also choose the final hairpin to make a pass over the No. 67 TRG Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR of Kevin Woods (SprintX West Am) to grab seventh position.

During the mandatory pit stops for driver changes, the first and second place cars would pit together early in the pit window, with Preston Calvert getting in to the No. 51 Panoz and Matt Travis in the No. 47 Porsche.  Third place Gregory Liefooghe would stay out in an attempt to over-cut his rivals and pit with 26 minutes remaining, turning the No. 19 Cameron Racing BMW over to Sean Quinlan.  The stop was just a little too quick compared to the minimum required time and the No. 19 would face a drive through penalty for the error.

The No. 34 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG of Christian Szymczak (SprintX West Pro-Am) would be the fastest car on track after switching drivers, as the bright orange machine would move from fifth to second in just a matter of laps before chasing down the race-leading Panoz.  With 20 minutes remaining the No. 34 would slip stream past the No. 51 at the turn seven hairpin and take the overall lead and victory.

“I was actually going back and forth on racing this weekend, but I knew it was going to be a great time so I had to,” said Szymczak. “The mercedes was really good all weekend.  I’ve been racing with Murillo for years now and the team is great and gave us a great car.”

Half a lap later Colin Mullan (SprintX Pro-Am) in the No. 36 Andretti Autosport McLaren 570S GT4 would pass the No. 47 NOLASPORT entry on the outside of turn one to take over the final podium position.

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Bryce Garnhart thought he would settle for second.

Then the yellow light flashed in front of him due to the leader crashing.

The defending track champion put the peddle down on the restart and cruised to the 25-lap Smokey Rupp Memorial Merfeld Brothers IMCA Modified win Sunday at Dubuque Speedway.

“I know it was bad for him, but it made me happy,” Garnhart said in victory lane. “Car ran great and I can’t thank everyone enough that works on this and supports us.”

Hometown driver Austin Moyer helped lead the field to John Ryan’s green flag and quickly opened a large advantage. With a straightaway lead over Garnhart, who clawed from sixth in a competitive 22-car field, Moyer jumped the turn two cushion and banged the wall, ending his night on lap 19.

Garnhart beat Timmy Current off the restart on the top groove and sped to the win.

Kyle Brown, Jeff Larson, Chris Zogg and Current completed the top five.

Ron Klein had a similar misfortune to Moyer in the Eichmann’s Bar and Grill IMCA Late Model 25-lap finale. Klein got caught up with a lapped car about halfway through, breaking the front end. Jeff Tharp inherited the lead on the restart and blasted to the win.

Justin Kay, Luke Merfeld, Eric Pollard and Jermiah Hurst followed.

Jerry Miles launched on a restart and won the Peosta Warehousing Logistics IMCA SportMod 15-lap feature.

Miles got that spot when top two drivers Rusty Deshaw and Tyler Soppe battled off turn two, collided and went head on into the backstretch wall. Deshaw’s ride ended upside down. He was not hurt, but both cars were done.

Austin Heacock, Jason Roth, Justin Becker and Wes Digman came next.

Brannon Bechen led all 10 laps of the 4Cylinder feature to beat Thomas Adams, John W. Campbell and Jacob Welter.

The K Motorports IMCA Stock Cars and Kinsella Concrete IMCA Hobby Stocks took the track together for two races in one.

Cole Mather picked up his third Stock Car win of the season over Kyle Merkes, Matt Hudspeth and Reece Norton.

Daniel Wauters took another Hobby win over Dakota Simonsen, Brandon White, Roger Winkers and Hank White.

PORT COLBORNE, Ontario — Brad Rouse and James Michael Friesen took home the two 25-lap features for the Cosco Haulage DIRTcar Sportsman as Archer’s Truck Service presented the racing action at the New Humberstone Speedway Sunday evening.

Rob Pietz took home the checkered flag for the Pro Fabrication RUSH Late Models. Billy Bleich Jr. won the main event for the JC Auto Thunder Stocks, which was home race number one for the Insta Panels Duel on the Dirt. Leroy Buscumb won race one of the Insta Panels Duel on the Dirt for the Glo and Go Tanning Mini Stocks.  Mitch Dumont won the Airhardt Deliveries Pro 4 Trucks feature.

Jay Mallory and James Michael Friesen were on the front row for the Cosco Haulage DIRTcar Sportsman feature from Opening Night with Friesen in the lead. Rouse moved up to third, Rouse to lead on lap seven.

Once out front, Rouse would not relinquish the lead. Rouse would go on to score the win. In the nightcap feature for the Cosco Haulage DIRTcar Sportsman, James Michael Friesen would use his pole position to take the lead away early from Jordan Cosco. Adam Leslie moved up through the field as would Brad Rouse to move into the top three. Friesen would lead all 25-laps to score the win.

Pro Fabrication RUSH Late Models first home race for the Northeast Late Model Alliance saw John Pinsonneault leading the field at the drop of the green. David Pangrazio would take the lead away and was being pressured by Adam Ferri and Rob Pietz. Ferri would take the lead and then Pietz would take the lead away at the midway point and would not look back as he would go on to score the win.

Home race number one for the Insta Panels Duel on the Dirt for the JC Auto Thunder Stocks saw Billy Bleich Jr and Donny Lampman on the front row with Bleich showing the way. Bleich continued to show the way as Rob Murray moved into second place. Bleich dominated the event, leading all 20 laps to score the victory.

The Glo & Go Tanning Mini Stocks had their first home race as part of the Insta Panels Duel on the Dirt and it was Evan Curtis and Kourtney Kocarik on the front row. Cole Hardy flipped, in turn, one to bring out the red flag on lap one. Hardy was alert and talking to medical personnel and visited the on-track care centre. Jay Moulton and Evan Curtis would lead the field back to the green flag with Moulton taking the lead. Moulton, Curtis, Olivier Larocque, and Leroy Buscumb all battled for the lead in the closing laps. Moulton’s lead would come to an end on lap 15 after spinning in turn four.  Buscumb would hold off several challenges to score the win.

Mitch Dumont took the lead away from Danny Wurster on lap one of the 15-lap feature for the Airhardt Deliveries Pro 4 Trucks.  The first caution of the event would come out on lap six as Brian Aube hit the front stretch wall.

On the restart, Dumont and Dylan Llord would pull away from the field as Llord would take the lead exiting turn two. Dumont would regain the lead with five laps remaining. Dumont would go on to score the win.

The Vintage Cars saw Jeff Larmet hold off challenges from Conrad Baker and Rick St. Pierre to score the victory. Qualifying heats were won by Andy Imbeault and Rick St. Pierre.

CALIFORNIA, Mo. — Sunday night saw the third annual Dylan Bias Memorial Race come to the Double-X Speedway with Kyle Bellm winning the headlining 360 sprint car feature.

Bellm took the lead from the pole and led the 25-lap distance to end Tyler Blank’s four-race winning streak. Blank was running second when he suffered a flat tire with two laps remaining.

Tyler Utz posted a good finish in second, Taylor Walton was third, Ayrton Gennetten finished fourth and Randy Martin completed the top five.

The Henson brothers Derek and Cole led the field to the green flag to begin the super stock event. Derek Henson would use the low groove to take the lead which never grew over four car lengths for the duration of the event.

Toby Ott and Marc Carter ran second and third right on the bumper for the majority of the event. Some close racing between Henson and Ott led to Ott coming to a stop on the top of turn four on lap 22. On the restart Derek Henson was still at the point with Carter and Cole Henson lining up behind him.

With three laps remaining, Henson would hold the slim advantage over the field to claim the victory. Marc Carter would earn a well contested second, Cole Henson was third, Zach Zeugin was fourth and Joe Miller finished fifth after starting 13th.

The hobby stock division rolled out next on the feature slate with Chuck Coffey and Kyle Smith running one-two early and just past the halfway point Dakota Girard joined the fray. Smith and Girard would challenge the leader on the white flag lap but Coffey was not to be denied.

Smith would win the duel for second with Girard finishing third.

WEEDSPORT, N.Y. — Danny Dietrich has certainly been on a roll this year, and now he can add an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory at Weedsport Speedway to his list of accomplishments.

Dietrich, driver of the Gary Kauffman Racing/Weikert’s Livestock/Sandoe’s Fruit Market/Pace Performance/Big Cove Whitetail Trophy Hunts/Drop Of Ink Tattoo/Sweeney Cars/Self Made/No. 48 sprint car, put fans on their feet Sunday night in central New York, utilizing a late-race restart to power around Danny Varin with just five circuits remaining.

Impressive enough, Dietrich accomplished his feat with a severed component in the rear suspension; a bent w-link.

“We are really starting to like this place,” Dietrich said of Weedsport Speedway, who now owns eight victories this year including his $5,000 All Star Circuit of Champions triumph. “Hats off to this entire team. We are clicking really well right now and the results show. There are so many people that help make all of this possible. Just a surreal feeling right now. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going into next weekend.”

Starting from the outside of row four, Dietrich was not speedy in his pursuit of the top spot, ultimately fading to a position just outside of the top-five during the first few circuits. In fact, Dietrich did not crack into the top three until lap 26 of 35.

During his late-race surge to the top, Dietrich was given some help, as Larry Wright, who was racing just ahead of Dietrich in the runner-up spot, made contact with the outside retaining wall on the 27th circuit, ultimately ending his night. The ensuing caution, which allowed Dietrich to restart on the tailtank of race leader Danny Varin, created the recipe for Dietrich’s eventual takeover.

Although Dietrich relied on the bottom of the speedway to get to himself that far forward, it was the top that proved to be the winning route. Utilizing momentum, Dietrich used a slingshot move around Weedsport’s cushion to gain command for the first time on lap 30, navigating the narrow edge in turns three and four to eventually work around Varin.

“I knew that is where I needed to be,” Dietrich continued. “[Danny Varin] was pretty good on the bottom, so I knew if I kept my pace up and built some momentum, I’d have a shot at him around the top. That late caution really helped us out. It gave me a chance to move up a lane and use clean air to get around him.”

Varin chased Dietrich to the final checkers, followed by Spencer Bayston, Cory Eliason and Greg Wilson.

Matt Sheppard topped the 35-lap modified feature.

The finish:

Feature (35-laps): 1. 48 – Danny Dietrich, 2. 00 – Danny Varin, 3. 70X – Spencer Bayston, 4. 26 – Corey Eliason, 5. 20W – Greg Wilson, 6. 13 – Paul McMahan, 7. 98H – Dave Blaney, 8. 14 – Tony Stewart, 9. 5W – Lucas Wolfe, 10. 87 – Aaron Reutzel, 11. 11 – Dale Blaney, 12. K4 – Chad Kemenah, 13. 70 – Brock Zearfoss, 14. 10 – Paulie Colagiovanni, 15. 07 – Gerard McIntyre, 16. 98 – Joe Trenca, 17. 47X – Dylan Westbrook, 18. 5 – Justin Barger, 19. 45 – Chuck Hebing, 20. 99 – Skylar Gee, 21. 35 – Tyler Esh, 22. 99L – Larry Wight, 23. 88C – Chad Miller, 24. X – Dan Bennett 

ST. LOUIS -- Ryan O'Reilly slammed his stick against the boards in frustration.

He had just sent the puck sailing over the glass for a delay-of-game call while on the penalty kill in the first period of Game 6. He had just handed the Boston Bruins' power play, best in the NHL playoffs since 1981, an opportunity to take an early lead on a five-on-three advantage, which they did on Brad Marchand's goal at 8 minutes, 40 seconds. After the Bruins' 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday to send the Stanley Cup Final to a Game 7 on Wednesday, O'Reilly said his mistake was undeniably a turning point in the game.

"Obviously not the start that we wanted. Bad play by myself there to take the penalty there to take it to five-on-three. It took the wind out of our sails, and it took too long for us to climb back in," O'Reilly said. "I'll take a little blame for that. That penalty set them up on the five-on-three and gave them a lot of confidence with a big goal there. We could have killed that penalty and gotten back to work."

The Blues did some work in Game 6 -- but not enough of it. They trailed the Bruins in shots on goal (34-29) and shot attempts at even strength (38-35), and they lost the special-teams battle, as the Bruins went 1-for-2 on the power play and the Blues went 0-for-4 despite generating 12 shots on Boston goalie Tuukka Rask with the man advantage.

"We did have momentum. We had some good looks. We didn't score. Rask made some good saves," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Can it be better? Yeah, it has to be better. It could have won us the game tonight."

There were a variety of reasons the Blues were unable to capture the Stanley Cup in Game 6. One of them was luck, or a lack of it, as goalie Jordan Binnington was fooled by a deflected puck that bounced into the net for the Bruins' second goal, and the Blues nearly had one past Rask that was swatted away by Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy's stick. But many of their struggles track back to poor decisions with the puck, failure to physically dominate the Bruins on the forecheck and, as O'Reilly noted, an inability to give the massive crowd gathered inside and outside the arena the chance to get into the game early -- a problem reminiscent of their Game 3 loss at home to Boston.

"I'm sure people are disappointed. We're disappointed," Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said. "But I think the way we have to look at it is that if you had told us at the beginning of the year, or even around Christmas, that we'd have a chance at a Game 7 and a Stanley Cup, I think everyone would have taken it."

For the Blues, there are other reasons for optimism. Binnington has earned a reputation for bounce-back efforts. Including the regular season, he's 13-2 with a 1.83 GAA (28 goals against, 918 minutes) and a .934 save percentage (394 saves, 422 shots) in games immediately following a loss. In the playoffs, Binnington is 7-2 with a 1.86 GAA and a .933 save percentage following losses. Also, although the Blues dropped to 6-7 at home, they're 9-2 on the road.

"Of course we wanted to win [at home]. It didn't happen. We have to move on, get ready for the next one," O'Reilly said. "We're confident. We're a great road team. Maybe that's our story. Maybe we have to get it done on the road."

On Sunday, the city of St. Louis was buzzing. More than an hour before puck drop of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, more than 30,000 fans packed a downtown square around the arena. Inside, the crowd was loud as ever. The Blues had a chance to capture their first Stanley Cup in franchise history -- at home, no less. But the Bruins had other plans, winning 5-1 to force a Game 7.

Here's everything you need to know about how Game 6 played out in this edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily.

Jump ahead: Last night's game | Three stars
Play of the night | Social post of the day

About last night ...

Game 6: Boston Bruins 5, St. Louis Blues 1 (series tied 3-3)

After plenty of pregame hoopla, St. Louis took the ice and looked awesome. The Blues were aggressive on the forecheck and penetrated Boston's D with sustained pressure in the offensive zone. The Blues outshot the Bruins 5-1 early on, then got the first power play. That's when the game swung.

St. Louis couldn't capitalize on its early looks. Boston -- with a 5-on-3, thanks to Ryan O'Reilly sending a puck over the glass -- struck first on a goal from Brad Marchand. (The Bruins, by the way, are now 25-1 in the postseason when Marchand scores a goal.) The Bruins' top line showed up, and David Pastrnak scored his first 5-on-5 goal of the series.

But this game was all about Tuukka Rask, who has been exceptional when the stakes are highest this postseason. We now have our first Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final since 2011 ... Boston's most recent championship. But St. Louis still feels good about its chances in Wednesday's winner-take-all showdown: Including the regular season, Jordan Binnington is 13-2 with a 1.83 goals-against average (28 goals against, 918 minutes) and a .934 save percentage (394 saves on 422 shots) in games immediately following a loss.

Three stars

1. Tuukka Rask, G, Boston Bruins. With the Bruins facing elimination this postseason, Rask is 3-0 with a 1.33 GAA and .953 save percentage. He has allowed only four goals in those three games.

2. Brad Marchand, LW, Boston Bruins. Marchand's opening goal silenced the crowd, and also brought with it a sense of inevitability that Boston would win. After all, in 2011, it was Marchand who opened the scoring in a pivotal Game 6 against Vancouver.

3. Karson Kuhlman, RW, Boston Bruins. The rookie hadn't played since April 30, but immediately injected energy on the David Krejci line and scored a goal to boot. He became the 21st Bruins player to score this postseason, a record.

Play of the night

Rask posted some ridiculous saves, and also benefited from a bit of luck. This play encapsulates both.

Dud of the night

The Blues' power play looked to be much improved at times, and it got some great looks against Rask. St. Louis had four power-play opportunities and generated 12 shots -- not bad. But the Blues couldn't score on any of them, and that killed the momentum and ultimately doomed them.

Social post of the day

Charles Glenn, thank you for everything. #stlblues #WeAllBleedBlue pic.twitter.com/GUtYt7GB0i

- St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 10, 2019

It was an epic farewell anthem from Charles Glenn, who is retiring this year due to his multiple sclerosis.

Quotable

"Growing up, every one of us shares the same dream. We were all a little kid once, and we all wanted this bad. And I think it was just an element of savoring this moment and not letting it end tonight. It was exactly what we needed. He stepped up, and we all ... I mean, like, when he talks, you listen. That's the presence that he has." -- Charlie McAvoy on Patrice Bergeron's pregame speech that inspired the Bruins to Game 6 victory.

Manchester United will have to double their record transfer outlay for a defender in order to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace after their opening bid was rejected, sources have told ESPN FC.

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is targeting right-back Wan-Bissaka as part of his summer overhaul, but United have had an initial offer of £35 million plus £5m in add-ons turned down.

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Palace believe they are in a strong position after securing Wan-Bissaka on a contract until 2022, and the 21-year-old has said he is happy to stay at Selhurst Park next season.

The Eagles have not ruled out letting the England under-21 international leave but are planning to hold out for a guaranteed £50m with a series of add-ons that could take the deal past the £60m mark.

That would almost double the £31m United paid Benfica for Victor Lindelof in 2017 and would make Wan-Bissaka -- who has had only one full season in the Premier League -- the third most expensive player in their history.

Paris Saint-Germain right-back Thomas Meunier is among the options if a fee for Wan-Bissaka cannot be agreed, but Arsenal are also interested in the Belgium international.

Solskjaer is continuing his squad rebuild after agreeing a £15m deal with Swansea for Daniel James. The Wales winger is expected to be officially announced as a United player once the international transfer window opens on Tuesday.

The manager is still hopeful of completing the bulk of his summer business before the start of preseason training on July 1. Players and staff fly to Perth for the start of the preseason tour on July 7.

Meanwhile, United remain in talks with Juan Mata about extending his stay at Old Trafford.

It was confirmed on Friday that Mata, who will become a free agent on June 30, has a contract offer on the table, but sources have told ESPN FC that negotiations are ongoing.

United, who have released Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia, are hopeful that the 31-year-old midfielder will stay, but he has a host of other offers from the Premier League, Italy and Spain.