England Women’s squad for European Cup announced

The England Women’s squad to compete in the FIRA AER European Cup in Amsterdam next month has today (Thursday) been announced.

England Head Coach Gary Street has named a strong squad of 26 players which includes 20 players that helped England win this season’s RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam crown. The squad will once again be led by captain Catherine Spencer with Saracens’ Rachel Burford as Vice Captain.

There are call-ups too for Lichfield duo Rosemarie Crowley and Vicki Jackson as well as Richmond’s Francesca Matthews and Bath’s Marlie Packer, all of whom could earn their first cap for England.

There is also a return to international action for Clifton’s Kim Oliver who has been out of action all season with a knee injury. Oliver was a key member of the England squad that reached the IRB Rugby World Cup final in 2006 and she will be looking to build on the ten caps she’s already amassed.

The European Cup is a tournament which takes place every four years and will see 14 teams from across Europe compete for the coveted crown, including all the Home Nations teams as well as France, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden. England last won the European Cup in 1997.

The tournament kicks off on Saturday May 17th and will see England, seeded in Group A, take on Sweden on May 17th. If England are successful they will next play in the semi-finals on May 20th with the final taking place on May 24th.

England Head Coach Street said: “Having not won this tournament since 1997 we are taking a very strong squad to Amsterdam. This championship comes around once every four years and we are keen to build on the progress we have been making this season and win the European crown.

“It’s also important that we look at the bigger picture and give members of our elite 44 the chance to show their potential and that is why we are taking four uncapped players. For some of them this is going to be a big step-up. Marlie and Roz have been playing for the under 20s this season and this is going to be an important tournament for them as it will be for Vicki Jackson and Fran Matthews.

“It’s also fantastic to have Kim back in action. She has missed a lot of rugby since the rugby world cup final, but she is back and is in impressive form and will add invaluable strength to our squad as not only is she a talented centre but is also a talented player at fly half.”

Street added: “Our ambition, as always, is to win. This has been a difficult tournament in the past for us so this is an ideal opportunity for us to continue to raise the bar with the 2010 IRB Rugby World Cup not far away.

“I am expecting it to be another tough tournament for us. The European teams really target this as their big tournament so that will be a challenge for us, as will playing a championship abroad and in different conditions.”

England squad

Margaret Alphonsi Saracens
Charlotte Barras Saracens
Sarah Beale Leos
Rachael Burford (vc)Saracens
Rochelle Clark Henley
Rosemarie Crowley Lichfield
Samantha Dale Worcester
Amy Garnett Saracens
Sophie Hemming Clifton
Sarah Hunter Lichfield
Vicki Jackson Lichfield
Karen Jones Richmond
Vicky Massarella Saracens
Francesca MatthewsRichmond
Joanna McGilchrist Wasps
Katy McLean Darlington Mowden Park Sharks
Katherine Merchant Worcester
Kimberley Oliver Clifton
Marlie Packer Bath
Claire Purdy Wasps
Georgina Roberts Darlington Mowden Park Sharks
Georgina Rozario Plymouth Albion
Catherine Spencer (C)Worcester
Michaela Staniford Wasps
Tamara Taylor Darlington Mowden Park Sharks
Amy Turner Richmond

Head Coach Gary Street
Assistant Coach Graham Smith


by Julia Hutton

England Women Under 20s record back-to-back wins over Wales

England Under 20s 43 Wales Under 20s 0

England Women Under 20s will head to Canada for the inaugural Under 20s Nations Cup in July in confident spirits after a second win over Wales this season.

The England young guns kept Wales from scoring a single point on both occasion after a 31-0 defeat in February and today’s impressive 43-0 victory at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire.

England touched down seven times en-route to the win with Bath Rugby’s Marlie Packer grabbing a brace of tries. Lichfield full back Emily Scarratt also kicked four conversions as well as claiming a try herself.

It did, however, take England 25 minutes to put the points on the board after a physical opening to the game which saw Wales do well in the scrum and line-outs. England’s fitness however told and in the end it was Worcester co-captain Laura Keates who broke the duck with the first try. Her score though was largely due to a superb counter-attack by Bath wing Natasha Hunt who charged 70 metres up-field before off-loading to Keates. Scarratt converted.

13 minutes later and England led 14-0 when Scarratt came into the midfield and manoeuvred her way around two Welsh defenders to put Camberley wing Georgina Crabb through to score in the corner for a converted try just before half-time.

After the break Scarratt, who has played for England A this season also, claimed her sole try after a clever chip at the back of a scrum by Doncaster fly half Claire Garner. Scarratt collected and dived over the line to score under the posts.

Substitute Sam Bree, of Worcester RFC, then had her chance with her first touch of the ball when she charged over the line from 40 metres out. Scarratt again added the conversion making the score 26-0 with 55 minutes on the clock.

Minutes later and Packer claimed the first of her two tries when a well worked line-out saw Packer muscle her way through Wales’ defence and score. Scarratt was as consistent as ever with her kick and slotted over the conversion.

On 71 minutes another replacement, Nicola Hoole of Bath, benefitted from another good England line-out which saw her touch down from five metres out before Packer rounded off the game for England. This time the Bath flanker picked up a loose ball after Wales’ full back failed to catch a pressure up and under kick from Saracens’ April Brown.

England Under 20s Head Coach Giselle Mather said: “This was an improved and pleasing performance. The team has taken on board the lessons they learned from our last game against Wales and have also put into practice what we have been doing in training well. We can now look forward to our tour to Canada later this year where we hope we can improve even more on the global stage.”

The Wales victory was England’s final match before the 2008 inaugural Under 20s Nations Cup which takes place in Toronto, Canada from July 10 to the 20th. There they will play Wales, Canada and the USA.

England Under 20s

1 Laura Keates (Worcester) C, 2 Davinia Monteiro (Wasps), 3 Elizabeth Peak (Cheltenham), 4 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond), 5 Charlotte Wild (Buxton RFC), 6 Isabelle Noel-Smith (Bath), 7 Marlie Packer (Bath), 8 Louise Leonard (Blaydon), 9 Rachel Fraser (Morpeth), 10 Claire Garner (Doncaster), 11 Georgina Crabb (Camberley), 12 Sarah McKenna (Old Albanian Saints), 13 Rose Fong (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 14 Natasha Hunt (Bath), 15 Emily Scarratt (Lichfield). Replacements: 16 Charlotte Male ( Ivel Barbarians), 17 Vicky Fleetwood (Lichfield), 18 Juliet Short ( Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 19 Nicola Hoole (Bath), 20 Sarah Guest (Worcester), 21 April Brown (Saracens), 22 Samantha Bree (Worcester).

Tries: Keates, Crabb, Scarratt, Bree, Packer (2), Hoole
Conversions: Scarratt (4)
Penalties:
Substitutions: Short for Wild and Bree for Crabb (50), Guest for Fraser and Male for Peak (57), Brown for Garner and Hoole for Noel-Smith (60), Fleetwood for Monteiro (70).

Wales Under 20s

1 Becky Newton, 2 Amy Lawrence, 3 Lowri Harries, 4 Sian Williams, 5 Sioned Harries, 6 Carys John (vc), 7 Amy Thompson, 8 Vicky Owens, 9 Laura Marsh, 10 Bethan Preece, 11 Sam Hill, 12 Ceri Redman, 13 Levi Hallett, 14 Rachel Green, 15 Mared Evans ©. Replacements: 16 Carley Powell, 17 Issy Jones, 18 Rachel Jones, 19 Lisa Newton, 20 Hannah Lerwill, 21 Sophie Francis, 22 Sian Owen.


by Julia Hutton


photo by Scrumpix Sports Photography

March 26th, 2008

HPA’s 2008

The High Performance Academies (HPA’s) will be held over the weekend of 12th & 13th July 2008.


HPA’s will be held at;


Leeds (Leeds Met Uni)
Lichfield (Lichfield RFC)
Uxbridge (Brunel University)
Taunton (Wellington School)


Seniors will attend both days with a view to be selected for the HPA / Super 4 Trials which will be held on 22nd – 24th August 2008 at RAF Halton (Buckinghamshire).


There will be HPA’s for both U15 & U18 age group (alongside the Senior programme). The U15s and U18s will attend for one of the days over the weekend (12th/13th July) at the same venue.

Final information regarding the HPA’s and the specific venue will be made available in due course via the RFU website.

England Women’s captain appointed TRDT Ambassador

England Women’s captain, Catherine Spencer, has been appointed an Ambassador of the Tag Rugby Development Trust (TRDT).

Spencer, who led England to an unprecedented third consecutive RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam in March, is supporting the unique charity which introduces primary school children in developing countries to Tag Rugby through volunteer tours that build a positive legacy through local involvement and UK support.

This year TRDT will be hard at work in Zambia, Uganda, India, South Africa Namibia, Tanzania and Rwanda

Spencer, who plays for Worcester RFC but is originally from Kent, said: “I am extremely honoured to have been asked to be an ambassador for such a worthwhile charity.

"I first heard about TRDT a couple of years ago when I watched a short presentation on one of their tours. I was immediately impressed by the work that was being done around the world.

“Rugby has had a fantastic influence on my life and has provided me with much happiness and enjoyment. The more people around the world that can have the opportunity to experience the joys of rugby, the better I think. We take the accessibility of rugby for granted in this country; TRDT is reaching out to those people who do not have this sporting luxury.”

TRDT Trustee Trevor Martingell added: “TRDT is proud to have the England Ladies captain as an Ambassador; the RFUW has been very supportive to TRDT and this will serve to strengthen the bond.

“Catherine has shown her leadership and guidance in her rugby, some of the same qualities that TRDT use to develop rugby around the world and in the development of its leaders and volunteers. TRDT hope to see Catherine travel to Africa or India to see first-hand the work she so proudly supports.”


by Julia Hutton
April 10th, 2008

England Women to take on New Zealand at the Emirates Airline London Sevens

England Women will get the chance to take on their arch rivals New Zealand when they compete for sevens glory in a one off fixture in the Emirates Airline London Sevens on May 25th at Twickenham.

New Zealand are the world’s number one ranked team in the 15 aside game and their Aotearoa NZ Maori team also have a formidable record, winning the Hong Kong Sevens four years on the bounce.

England, who are ranked second in world rugby after their defeat to New Zealand in the 2006 IRB Rugby World Cup final, are stepping up their sevens campaign ahead of the 2009 IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens and the 2010 IRB Rugby World Cup.

The England Sevens squad are led by former England men’s sevens captain Simon Amor and he is assisted on the coaching side by former England Sevens Head Coach Mike Friday.

This year Amor will be taking England to the Amsterdam Sevens in May before the Emirates Airline London Sevens. They will then compete in the Home Nations Cup in Edinburgh in June and the European Sevens and South Africa Sevens in July and August.

Amor said: “I am delighted that we have got this opportunity to play the New Zealand Aotearoa Maori sevens team. To play a team that is billed as the best in the world is a fabulous opportunity for our players, as we look to build on our sevens programme. It is really important that we are playing quality opposition.

“It will be a massive game for the players. To be given the opportunity to play for your country is a big honour and challenge in itself, to then play New Zealand at Twickenham in front of a massive crowd is an even bigger occasion.

“Some of our players won’t have played in front of such a big crowd before so this is their opportunity to shine and also give the spectators an insight into women’s rugby and the high standard they are playing at. I am sure a lot of people will be shocked as to how good these players are and the quality of rugby they can play.”

England last played the New Zealand Aotearoa Maori sevens team in 2003 and lost 27-0 in the Hong Kong Sevens final.

The one-off England versus New Zealand match is one of just 44 sevens matches that will take place at Twickenham on the Emirates Airline London Sevens weekend on May 24th and 25th. There will be 16 other top international sides in action playing fast paced, thrilling and entertaining sevens rugby.


by Julia Hutton
April 10th, 2008