England change sevens policy

A subtle change has been made to England's policy on sevens, which I slightly missed.

Last season a separate Sevens squad was announced - selected from the Guildford open sevens trials - which, it was said, would be only occasionally bolstered by players from the Elite squad. In practice this did not happen. After a couple of defeats in warm-up tournaments the Elite players quickly took over a larger and larger proportion of the team.

The reality of the situation has been acknowledged for next season with a slightly larger Elite squad being given responsibility for both England's 15s and 7s campaigns, while the squad selected from this year's Guildford trials is officially the "RFUW Sevens Development", and will play in domestic sevens tournaments this summer. Curiously no announcement has been made about who is in this squad (the elite squad was announced earlier this week).

Its a subtle change, but I am guessing may have something to do with the arrival of Barry Maddocks, who was already referring to last season's sevens squad as "development" in the lead-up to Amsterdam last weekend. It certainly seems to be a change in policy that has come about since his arrival - before the Guildford trials last month it was clearly said that successful trialists would be playing for England, not England Development.

Which is not to suggest for one minute that there is anything wrong with this - on the contrary it makes more sense this way - but you do wonder about the way the change has been slipped in like this.

Nations Cup to be revived next season

This summer will be the first "blank" summer for England's women's teams since 2007, but next year it will be "back to normal" for the world's busiest women's rugby team. The announcement about the England Ellite and U20 squads for next season included the news that the Nations Cup returns.

For the U20s it will be taking place in England, for the first time since 2009. No details yet about who else will be taking part, but the release also mentions a home-and-away series with France.

The senior Nations Cup will be in the USA, with England taking part on their way home after their three-test tour to New Zealand. In addition England will again play an Autumn home series against New Zealand, as well as a series with France, before competing for their 8th consecutive Six Nations title.

So that is a programme of at least 17 test matches for England over the next 12 months, plus the Sevens World Cup, and European Trophy for the A team.

25 years of Test Rugby: England celebrate, but its very quiet in Wales

Today is the 25th anniversary of the first women's test rugby for England and Wales' who met on this day back in 1987 ay Pontypridd. RFUW recognised this today with a press release, and the Rugby Museum at Twickenham will also be running a special exhibition. The WRU, on the other hand, seem to be letting the occasion pass by. 

RFUW's press release says:

"25 years ago to the day England Women played their very first international rugby match. On a spring day at Pontypool RFC in Wales, England’s first ever 22 female rugby players ran out against a Welsh team who were also enjoying their first ever taste of international rugby. Only a handful of spectators were there to witness this significant day in the history of the women’s game, but for England their first tentative footsteps into the international arena ended in success with a 22-4 victory.

The stars of that victory included names such as Nicola Ponsford, MBE, who is the current Acting Managing Director of the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW) and England Women’s Head of Performance, as well as Carol Isherwood, OBE, who is a RFUW Board Member and also holds a seat on the International Rugby Board (IRB) Committee. 

“My abiding memory of that first ever international match was that it was an amazing experience but one where we were finding our feet,” said Ponsford, who started at hooker in that match. “We stayed in a youth hostel, and our match preparation included taking our walk and stretch on the swings in the park! 

“The game itself was all a bit of a blur. It was much faster than we had played before. There was a lot of mauling and I seemed to be stuck in the middle of all of them. There were a few people watching, but mainly family and friends and a few interested spectators who seemed baffled that women were actually playing rugby. We also played in big, baggy white cotton shirts that we had to pay for.” 

Since then England and the Women’s Game has come a long way. England have played 186 international test matches, including playing Wales 29 times and losing just one match against them in that 25 year period. That phenomenal record has continued for England who have since gone on to win 165 matches, draw two, and lose just 23 games. England have also won the Six Nations a record breaking eight times, including seven Grand Slams, since the tournament first began in 2003. Despite England’s impressive record they have surprisingly only won the Women’s Rugby World Cup once and that was in 1994, although England have come close on four occasions, making the final in 1991, 2002, 2006 and 2010. Ponsford, who went on to win 50 caps for England, was part of that historic 1994 winning side. England took the title by beating the USA 38-23 in the final in Edinburgh. 

“Since being involved in the first ever game there have been many highlights but certainly winning the Rugby World Cup in 1994 ranks as one of my best memories, alongside helping to organise the first Women’s Rugby World Cup in 1991 and England hosting the 2010 Rugby World Cup which proved to be the most successful Women’s Rugby World Cup ever.” 

The 2010 Rugby World Cup, hosted by the RFU, in London was certainly a landmark tournament for Women’s Rugby globally. The tournament broke new ground with record breaking broadcasting and media exposure, whilst pool matches were sold out and the final, at the Twickenham Stoop, witnessed the biggest ever crowd at a women’s XVs match of over 13,000 people. 

Since then it has been non-stop for England and the RFUW and the RFU who are at the forefront of growing and developing the Women’s Game. England now regularly play their home games on the hallow turf of Twickenham Stadium, whilst live television coverage is becoming a regular occurrence.

And the enthusiasm is growing at the grass roots level of the game too with currently 13,645 women and girls playing rugby in England –that’s an increase of 87 percent since records began in 2004/05. Worldwide, Women's Rugby is one of the fastest-growing forms of the Game with over 200,000 registered women actively competing in XVs and Sevens and 800,000 women and girls participating in leisure rugby in all its forms.
With Rugby Sevens also now on the Olympic agenda, which the game making its debut in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, the game is set to reach new heights. This season has seen the introduction of the IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup with the worlds’ best Sevens teams competing over three tournaments, in Dubai, Hong Kong and London, alongside the men’s HSBC World Sevens Series, whilst next season the IRB are looking to introduce a new Women’s World Sevens Series. 

Ponsford added: “The game has developed so much since I first became involved and it has developed only for the better. I was the first ever paid employee but now we have a wonderful, extremely talented team at Twickenham with massive support from the RFU, as well as the likes of Sport England, the English Institute of Sport and our various sponsors. Club level, there is now over 300 teams playing rugby in England and we hope that one day soon girls’ rugby will become a first choice sport in schools across the country. 

“At the top level we have around 400 players in the England system. Although we have not won a world cup in 18 years I am confident that soon our time will come. We are also experiencing exciting times in Sevens Rugby too and I hope that in 2016 both the men and women’s Great Britain teams will be in fighting contention to win two gold medals.” 

In recognition of this historic day the World Rugby Museum at Twickenham Stadium is hosting a special exhibition entitled England Women’s Rugby – A Continuing Success. The new display shows a range of objects that highlight the increasing success of both English and international Women’s Rugby. The display is located at the entrance to the museum exhibition area, and will run until July 2012."

England 7s set marker for World Cup

Jo Watmore scores winning try for England in final

There are times when England's policy on women's sevens is a bit... hard to read. On the one hand we have the Open Trials where the policy appears to be like New Zealand - take talented athletes and teach them to play rugby as a long-term project aimed at 2016. Then, when that team fails to win everything immediately, this changes with more and more seasoned players coming in.

Over the past year each tournament seems to have had more and more players from the Elite Squad, fewer and fewer from the Sevens Squad. There are now only about four players left from the 10 selected 12 months ago, and one of them is Michaela Staniford who, with over 50 England caps, is a bit untypical of the rest!

Anyway - it is now clear, I think, that the policy is to pick the best team England can at all times, and win everything. And you really cannot argue to much with that. Not least when it works as well as it did last night.

The 12-woman squad selected for the Hong Kong Sevens - the second IRB Women's Challenge tournament - included only four players who had played in last year's European Championships, and only seven from the first IRB Challenge in Dubai last November, where England had finished as runners-up. Out when young players like Emily Scott and Sarah McKenna, and in came Elite players like Rachel Burford and Alice Richardson. With 10 "Elite" players in all, England clearly meant business.

England breezed through the pool - as they would have been expected to, facing China and Japan. The former is pouring money and resources into sevens rugby, but their target is 2016 - this is just a stepping stone on the way. The latter are Asia's third best team and, despite a lot of investment as well, are unlikely to make the World Cup next year. England scored 69 points, conceding just one try to China.

This gave England a semi-final against Canada this morning (you have to wonder who the incompetent genius behind the seeding for this tournament was, incidentally, as this was not the only occasion where match scheduling - and come to that team transport arrangements - raised eyebrows). Canada had not lost a game for over a year, and had five major titles to their name - but England won by 22-12. Then in the final England beat World Champions Australia, as they had in Dubai, this time 15-10 (ScrumQueens match report).

Its now pretty clear that England have beginning to target sevens in a way that they never have before. In May England will host their first ever international women's sevens tournament - the IRB Challenge at the London Sevens, after which it will be the European Series and World Cup qualifier, and then next year the new IRB Women's Series.

What will be interesting to see is what effect this all has on the England XVs team. French attempts to play 15s and 7s at the same time has not been a success, and when England tried it in 2009 the result was their only failure to record a Grand Slam in the past seven years.

• Overall a great 7s for England... and also Australia, and Spain - plate winners again having come with seconds on making the semi-finals. Truly criminal that they will not be in London!!! China also well after their pasting from England, thumping Russia (who had beaten Netherlands) and pushing Spain all the way.
• USA will be happy with the semi-final, and World Cup hosts Russia will also take some positives from this weekend.
• Canada, on the other hand, have had a wake-up call - they are no invincible after all. Japan will be disappointed, but for Netherlands it was close to a disaster. Two weeks in South Africa preparing, and from four games they could only beat Hong Kong....

England make history... but fail to impress BBC Sport website

Seventh successive title, six Grand Slam in seven years, and the first team to ever win a Six Nations without conceding a try. By any stretch of the imagination England's 2012 Six Nations campaign has been pretty impressive.

But not impressive enough for the editors of the BBC Sport's rugby union website. Take a look - as things stand there is nothing at all. Not a word, not a photograph. Nothing whatsoever.

Coverage of the England women's challenge for the Six Nations has been pretty good on TV this year - up to this week there has been plenty of mentions and highlights, especially when John Inverdale has been involved.

But clearly the amount of room on the web available is much more constrained and limited than time on TV, and given with a choice of covering a truly remarkable and unique news story happening today, or a detailed review of games that happened 22 years ago well its pretty obvious where the BBC web site should concentrate its efforts...

• A news report in England's triumph did eventually appear on the BBC Sport Website... the following day, some 18 hours or so after the game finished. No reports from any games involving any other the UK's other teams have appeared (that I can find). Comprehensive reports on all the men's internationals appeared within minutes of the end of each game. 

An invitation to play for England

RFUW are opening up their national sevens trials to everyone.

Last year 85 women took part in the trials at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford, and the squad eventually selected included eight players with no previous experience of playing rugby in England. England then went on to win the European Sevens, and finish runners-up in Dubai.

Admittedly this seems to have been achieved by drafting in quite a few players from outside the official sevens squad - RFUW did seem to hit the panic button pretty hard when the new squad failed to achieve immediate success - but hopefully this time they may allow the squad to learn and grow. Although in the year that decides qualification for the Sevens World Cup...

Anyway, anyone interested has until 13th April to apply to take part in the trials. To submit your application go to https://secure.jotform.com/form/20522116373.

England demonstrate art of losing friends and alienating people

The generosity and enthusiasm of Italian rugby clubs who play host to women's internationals is fast becoming legendary. Ireland's trip to Rovigo last year was typical - the Irish team being given the complete red card treatment throughout their visit, with a big enthusiastic crowd making the game a huge and memorable occasion.

This year is is England's turn to visit Italy, and the citizens of Udine in Venice region were over the moon to be given the chance to host the game. All sorts of preparations were being put in place to welcome the English team.

Were.

Because England are not coming. You see, Udine is 90km, or about 57 miles (as the crow flies) from Venice airport. And England have pointed out an IRB rule that internationals cannot take place more than 50 miles from an airport.

If you have not heard of this rule then this will be no surprise because, as an Italian RFU spokesman put it, this is "a clause that is almost never required." However "England team was adamant and demanded the move". As a result the game will now take place at Parabiago, near Milan - about 30km from the airport.

To compensate the rugby fans of Udine, the Italian RFU will now move a men's U20 game to the ground, along with games against French or Welsh women's teams next year. Apparently they are okay to travel the extra 7 miles or so.

No doubt England's management will claim that this has saved their players being crammed in a coach for an unnecessary period. However, the total journey time to Udine down the fast, modern Autostrada would have been just over an hour. Instead they will now have to drive across the middle of Milan -journey time (if the roads are clear) at least 50 minutes. I really hope those extra 10-20 minutes saved - if any time is saved (this is Milan after all!) - are worth the upset caused.

It is sometimes said that the law is an ass, but occasionally this metaphor applies to those who insist on its application.

Eight changes as England call up big guns for Ferns

Eight of women's rugby's biggest names are back in the England squad for the series against the Black Fern.

The squad announced today includes 18 players from the party that went to France, but replaces Rosemarie Crowley, Rose Jay, Ceri Large, Sarah McKenna, Harriet Millar-Mills, Isobel Noel-Smith, Tamara Taylor and Lydia Thompson with Maggie Alphonsi, Rachael Burford, Becky Essex, Sophie Hemming, Katy McLean, Claire Purdy, Tamara Taylor, and Nollie Waterman.

However, two new caps from the French tour are retained - Hannah Gallagher and Alex Matthews.

This is clearly a squad that means business. Every player has played at least one test match - following the last Six Nations England have had both the Nations Cup and the French tour to experiment with new players, positions and tactics - five tests and one uncapped international, so there is no need to try anything new. The result is a pretty awesome team.

The challenge, of course, will be to keep the team on top form over a challenging three games in just over a week - but again England's preparation for that could hardly have been better, with four test in a fortnight in Canada and now two in four days in France.

The full squad is:

• Margaret Alphonsi (Saracens)
• Rachael Burford (Richmond)
• Rowena Burnfield (Richmond) 
• Rochelle Clark (Worcester)
• Rebecca Essex(Richmond)
• Victoria Fleetwood (Lichfield)
• Hannah Gallagher (Saracens)
• Sophie Hemming (Bristol)
• Natasha Hunt (Lichfield)
• Sarah Hunter (Lichfield) 
• Laura Keates (Worcester) 
• La Toya Mason (Wasps)
• Alexandra Matthews (Richmond)
• Katy McLean (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
• Katherine Merchant (Worcester)
• Kimberley Oliver (Bristol)
• Marlie Packer (Bristol)
• Claire Purdy(Wasps) 
• Alice Richardson (Richmond)
• Georgina Roberts (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
• Emily Scarratt (Lichfield)
• Michaela Staniford (Wasps)
• Amy Turner (Richmond)
• Tamara Taylor(Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
• Danielle Waterman (Worcester)
• Kay Wilson (Richmond)

The dates for the three tests are:

• Nov 26th England v New Zealand, Twickenham Stadium, KO 5pm, live on Sky Sports
• Nov 29th England v New Zealand, Esher RFC, KO 7pm
• Dec 3rd England v New Zealand, Esher RFC, 2pm

Tickets for the game at Twickenham on November 26th are available from Ticketmaster.co.uk and group booking are available from the RFU by calling 0871 22 22 017, option 6. Prices range from £65 to £35. Junior tickets cost just £15.

Tickets for the international tests at Esher RFC on November 29th and December 3rd will be available on the gate and cost £10 for adults and £5 for juniors. They can also be purchased in advance at www.esherrugby.com

England downed... by French kicking!

England have just lost the test match in France by 16-15, despite outscoring their hosts by two tries to one. Three French penalties and a converted try were enough to sneak past England - who had lead for almost the entire game.

Given the nature of the teams (many of England's leading players were rested for this short tour) it does not mean a sudden change in world rankings, but maybe the real significance is that first line above. France scored three penalties and a conversion in conditions that were pretty awful (heavy rain - again).

Considering that eight months ago or so France's penalty takers would not have reliably kicked the skin of a rice pudding this is a remarkable turn round - especially if you recall that their kicking display in the midweek game was also pretty good.

No news yet as to who it was who kicked England to defeat, but this does suggest that the Six Nations could actually be quite competitive this year - which would be no bad thing.

• It is interesting to learn that the golden French boot belonged to Aureile Bailon, who is not exactly new to the French team as this was he 28th cap. However she missed all of last season, but now seems to be back with a bang, not to say a boot. With Jessy Trémoulière (who impressed everyone on Wednesday) also in the team, France are building a challenging team.

Follow England from the inside

Either because of a change of policy at RFUW, or maybe because they have not noticed yet, the social media has at last made an impact on the England team.

Its not quite the blog or tour diary, like the Americans and Canadians have managed in recent years, but some of England's players have begun to embrace Twitter. So for the first time you can follow the ups and downs of being part of the team from the inside, including occasional unguarded unofficial photos, like this flattering image of Michaela Staniford after Wednesday's uncapped friendly against France.

England players and officials tweeting at the moment include:

Amy Turner (hooker and for scrum-half)
Sarah Hunter (captain and No. 8)
Alice Richardson (fly/centre)
Claire Allen (centre)
Kim Oliver (fly/centre)
La Toya Mason (scrum-half)
Natasha Hunt (scrum-half)
Claire Purdy (prop)
Isabelle Noel-Smith (Flanker)

Janice Anastasi (vice-chair of RFUW)

England back at Esher again for Black Ferns games

England have confirmed the dates and venues for the visit of New Zealand in November... but have again wasted an opportunity to spread the game to a wider audience.

It is great that the first game in the series - at Twickenham on November 26^th  will be screened live on Sky Sports, following the men's Barbarians v Australia fixture (a game that is tactlessly (and inaccurately) being marketed by the RFU as the "only international this Autumn" - not least because Barbarians games are not test matches, whereas the women's game they are choosing to ignore is).

However, the other two tests will both be at - Esher RFC (again) on November 29^th and December 3^rd and will not be televised by anyone, and presumably not webcast either as neither RFU nor RFUW seem to have arrived in the 21st century yet. The best we might hope for is some highlights. I wouldn't hold your breath on that, however

This is unlike, say, the USA, Canada or even the Cayman Islands, all of whose unions almost routinely webcast their internationals. Doesn't Twickenham find it just slightly embarrassing that tiny little Unions in some of the remotest parts of the world can manage this new technology thing just fine, but England - richest union in the world, with 2.5 million players (allegedly) - can't? What exactly is the problem?

Its not as if Esher is in the middle of no-where - and indeed that is the other problem. The RFUW have not exactly pushed the boundaries and used this tour to spread the game, have they? Esher is less than 10 miles from Twickenham and firmly within the M25. So anyone in South West London gets to see all three internationals on their doorstep, while the rest of the country (for the second and third tests) will have to put up with a match report and photograph on ScrumQueens.

When England travel to New Zealand in 18 months time or so, will all their games be in Wellington? No - I would be amazed if they were all on the same island.

England are also going to France for a couple of games next month... and are they both their games in Paris? No! In fact, in a move akin to the RFUW playing the Black Fern games in Newcastle or Manchester, the French "Autumn tests" will be played in the south of France with an "uncapped friendly" in Marseilles on 2nd November and a "full on" test in Aix-en-Provence on the 5th.

France will also be playing Italy the previous week (29th October) in Nice...well over 100 miles away from Marsailles in south-east France. In addition, France's three home Six Nations games will be played in Calais, Clermont Ferrand (central France), and Pau (south west). Add in their international venues in the past couple of years and most Frenchwomen will have had at least one international nearby (within 50-100 miles at worst) in the past 2-3 years.

Time was when England were almost as adventurous - they made it all the way to Leeds in 1997! - but the last time England travelled further north than St Albans was when they found their way to the remote outpost of civilisation that is Northampton in 2001.

When last questioned on this policy a few years ago, RFUW claimed it was not their fault and blamed international regulations about airports and hotels. So for those of you in Newcastle and Manchester who thought you had airports and hotels you'd better check they are really there. And if they are then clearly they are not remotely as good as those to be found in Clermont Ferrand and Pau.

• One other confirmed Autumn International will be Scotland's visit to Netherlands on 6th November, probably in Amsterdam. Considering recent Scottish form it could be a very close game indeed... Wales and Ireland have no games currently announced.

Changes to Autumn international fixtures

While the New Zealand games remain on track (with the November 26th fixture at Twickenham to be shown live in Sky), there are some subtle changes to information about the other games, as first released by the French rugby union back in July (but still not an official peep from the RFUW, where the information remains a state secret).

Essentially both of the England v France autumn tests will now be in France -  Marseille, November 2nd and Aix-en-Provence, 5th. In addition, France will play Italy in Nice on October 29th.

England's U20 game with France will now be in Périgord-Agenais on 10th March 2012- and France will also play Wales (as will, presumably, England), which means we could have an (unofficial) U20 Three Nations - if someone wants to award points.

Its a full-time life in the England women's team

Interesting statistic (well, I find it interesting)... in the last 12 months (up to yesterday) England's women have played 14 test matches. That is more (over the same period) than the professional men's team.

Indeed, if you add in the "A" internationals - which several squad players also play in - this relatively small group of 40 or so amateur rugby players have been involved in 20 high status international games in space of a year. As well as playing for their clubs. And holding down jobs (or studying at university in some cases).

What is more (and thanks to the correspondent below for this), England have five more test matches coming up before the end of this year - two against France (no. 4 in the world), followed by three against New Zealand (no. 1). Then in the New Year its the Six Nation, followed by the European Championship (which in 2012 is a first team event - so that is another nine tests after January, or 14 in all for the season - and that is before the summer tour somewhere (if there is no Nations Cup). And then the same again in 2012-13, followed by a summer tour to New Zealand...

Add to that England's commitment to sevens. Though they have a theoretically separate sevens training squad, this was heavily augmented by main squad players for the Europeans and - if the IRB tour goes ahead (and a lot of national sevens coaches seem to be treating it as a done deal) - that will almost certainly be the case in the future (unless the England management are capable of stomaching a few developmental defeats, which they do not seem to be). So another four high intensity weekends for some players. Then in 2013 its the Sevens World Cup, followed by Olympic qualification...

Daunting stuff...

Nations Cup: The natural order is restored

In the end the final results of the Nations Cup was pretty much as expected. England won, Canada made the most of home advantage to finish second, USA took third, and South Africa were fourth.

However, getting to that point was far from a smooth ride for all concerned. The group phase was full of surprises (or near surprises) as teams used the tournament to experiment with different players and formations.

Even on finals day, the winners had to work hard. USA's eventual 29-9 win over South Africa (see USA Rugby match report) came only after the Africans had challenged hard at the start, even taking an early lead. England also often found the Canadian backs difficult to handle, the skills of their sevens stars being a real threat. Though England lead from pretty much start to finish, eventually winning 41-19, Canada stayed with little more than a score of them until the final quarter of the game.  It is also worth recording that Canada's 19 points (and two tries) against England's strongest possible XV was more than England conceded in all the matches in their entire Six Nations campaign at the start of the year - in fact its the largest number of points a full-strength England has shipped in a single game since the World Cup final in 2006.

One interesting change over the fortnight was England's change of kicker - Emily Scarratt taking over all of Katy McLean's kicking duties by the end of the tournament - and to great effect, though Emily did not seem entirely comfortable at full back. Natasha Hunt and Kay Wilson also made impressive debuts, and the extra competition for places in the England backline seemed to have a noticeably beneficial effect the quality of handling by the England team.

The next time we will see an England team take the field will be in November - and their opponents then will be New Zealand. Are they ready?

RFU report

Nations Cup: Enough with the messing about - England put on serious face for the final

After taking every opportunity to experiment with different formations, Gary Street has clearly decided that enough is enough. One look at the team selected for the final shows that he is taking this pretty seriously as his starting XV is about as strong as fitness and availability could possibly allow.

Apart from anything else, this means that Amy Garnett of Saracens will earn her 100th cap for England when she walks out for the start of the game as, for the first time in the tournament, she makes the starting team. For a player who was originally left out of the touring party this is pretty impressive, and her performances have ensured  that she has won back her place as England no. 1 hooker. For now at least...

19 year-old Kay Wilson, at the other end of her rugby career, is the only player in starting line-up to have made her debut on this tour. Everyone else has played at least 10 times for England, and almost all of them played in the World Cup. Even the bench is pretty experienced, though Marlie Packer and Natasha Hunt both make the 22 again thanks to some excellent performances over the fortnight.

Canada are pretty confident as well, however - and after their performance on Tuesday who can blame them. Julianne Zussman - delighted to be a first choice wing for Canada having spent the World Cup watching from the sidelines - reported, after a day off on Thursday, its back to serious prepartions for the home team "Watching video of [Tuesday's] game was an eye-opening experience, as it always is. It's dumbfounding how obvious things are when you step outside of the game This afternoon we headed back out to practice with fresh eyes. John and Sandro [Canada's coaches] have a clear vision in mind for Saturday, and this afternoon we started to put the pieces in place. Building on the momentum of a successful international 7's season, and of three strong round robin performances, Canada feels ready to play the Brits!".

England's team:

15 Emily Scarratt (Lichfield)
14 Katherine Merchant (Worcester)
13 Claire Allan (Richmond)
12 Alice Richardson (Richmond)
11 Kay Wilson (Richmond)
10 Katy McLean (C) (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
9 La Toya Mason (Wasps)
1 Claire Purdy (Wasps)
2 Amy Garnett (Saracens)
3 Sophie Hemming (Bristol)
4 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
5 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond)
6 Rebecca Essex (Richmond)
7 Margaret Alphonsi (VC) (Saracens)
8 Sarah Hunter (Lichfield)

Replacements:
16 Vicky Fleetwood (Lichfield)
17 Rochelle Clark (Worcester)
18 Jenny Brightmore (Worcester)
19 Marlie Packer (Bristol)
20 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield)
21 Sarah McKenna (Old Albanians Saints)
22 Michaela Staniford (Wasps)

Nations Cup: Dress rehersal

The next round of Nations Cup games - and the final round of group games - will be played tomorrow. Play returns to Appleby College in Ontario for this round and the final, so hopefull we'll get a live feed and - fingers crossed - one that works better than in round one as well. Drop by the Rugby Canada Ustream feed at around 8.30pm (BST) tomorrow to see. Its well worth doing as there is always a lively discussion going on to accompany the rugby!

First up will be USA v South Africa, both teams looking for the first win. From reports the USA are struggling with playing so many games in such a short time, so may rest a few of their leading players for this game. If that is the case - and if South Africa can keep their discipline and not give away so many penalties - the Africans might cause a upset. Unlikely though.

England have been very slow to release their team - which is unusual - so quite what to expect from their game (due to kick-off at about 10.30 pm our time) is anyone's guess. You'd think that Gary Street would stick with the team that did so well against South Africa, but he might be also wanting to give his "stars" a chance to show that their performance against the USA was just a one-off in a game where, in theory, the pressure will be off. England should be good enough regardless -the "usual" game will probably be enough as the Canadian forwards will probably not be as powerful as the Americans.The only danger will come from the Canadian backs if they are allowed to run.

* The final and third place games - between the same teams - will be on Saturday, with kick-offs two-and-a-half hours earlier in each case.

** The England team has now been announced - and it is an interesting one. Many of the big names return, but not necessarily in the starting XV. Sarah Hunter is the third England captain in as many matches, though Katy McLean is on the bench, as is Maggie Alphonsi and one of last weekend's stars Nathasha Hunt. On the other hand Kat Merchant, four tries against South Africa, is rested - presumably for the final. The selection also allows some young players a chance to show how they shape up alongside established stars - Marlie Packer wears Maggie's shirt at 7, and Hertfordshire's Sarah McKenna gets to play at inside centre between Claire Allan and Emily Scarratt. The full England 22 is:

15 Danielle Waterman (Worester)
14 Fran Matthews (Richmond)
13 Emily Scarratt (Lichfield)
12 Sarah McKenna (Old Albanians Saints)
11 Claire Allan (Richmond)
10 Alice Richardson (Richmond) VC
9 La Toya Mason (Wasps)
1 Rochelle Clark (Worcester)
2 Vicky Fleetwood (Lichfield)
3 Laura Keates (Worcester)
4 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond)
5 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
6 Becky Essex (Richmond)
7 Marlie Packer (Bristol)
8 Sarah Hunter (Lichfield) (C)

Replacements:

16 Amy Garnett (Saracens)
17 Claire Purdy (Wasps)
18 Jenny Brightmore (Worcester)
19 Maggie Alphonsi (Saracens)
20 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield)
21 Katy McLean(Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
22 Michaela Staniford (Wasps)

Nations Cup: Sweet revenge for Canada, and a quandary for Street

Round two of the Nations Cup resulted in wins for England and Canada, who as a result will now meet twice in the next week - once for the last group game, and then again for the final next weekend.

For Canada their 35-17 win over the USA was glorious revenge for their defeat to the same opponents in the World Cup last year. After a tight first half, Canada - cheered on by an excited and increasingly vocal crowd  - ran away with the game, their sevens stars running riot as the US defence tired, scoring 21 unanswered points until the USA's consolation try just before the end.

Video of the game isn't yet available, but reports from the game suggested that while the US's awesome defence held for most of the first 40 minutes, keeping the visitors in touching distance, the game was a very close affair. However, once the defence had been breached and the US had to go on the offensive they had little to offer other than an over-reliance on kicking. As a result the game occasionally degenerated into a ping-pong contests where the Canadians invariably came out as winners.

Earlier in the evening what was effectively England's reserve squad put together a convincing 46-8 win over South Africa, Natasha Hunt having a dream debut with the boot, slotting three penalties and a conversion in the first half, as well as setting up the opening try in the second. With England now 26-5 ahead Street took the opportunity to give the bench some game time, Hunt being one of those replaced. This did little to reduce England's domination, Kat Merchant in particular going on to score four tries.

The success of the younger players, compared with the more stuttering performance by the big names in the opening game, could present Gary Street with something of a selection problem. The next game against Canada is a dead rubber, so there is room to experiment. On the other hand, England have never lost to Canada - a fact that creates a pressure all of its own. It will be interesting to see which team is selected.

RFU report on England v South Africa

New look England team faces South Africa

Only four of England's starting XV from Sunday will start against South Africa tomorrow, following the narrow 15-11 win against the USA. The changes will almost certainly not be a reaction to that game, but a planned opportunity for Gary Street to give the fringe members of the squad a run out against the weakest team in the tournament.

There are a number of new caps, most notably 19 year-old Kay Wilson at full-back, who has rapidly moved through the U20 and "A" squads in less than a year to now run out with the big girls. Scrum-half Natasha Hunt also plays her first game, but the young players will be supported by players at the very other end of their careers, such as Amy Garnett, winning her 98th cap.

The evening's two games will be played at a different ground to the first round, and at present indications are that there will be no live feed. Hopefully we will get delayed video - not least because the other game (USA v Canada) will be a treat - but at present nothing is confirmed.

England team:

15 Kay Wilson (Richmond)
14 Katherine Merchant (Worcester)
13 Claire Allan (Richmond)
12 Sarah McKenna (Old Albanians)
11 Michaela Staniford (Wasps)
10 Alice Richardson (VC) (Richmond)
9 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield)
1 ClairePurdy (C) (Wasps)
2 Amy Garnett (Saracens)
3 Sophie Hemming (Bristol)
4 BeckyEssex(Richmond)
5 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond)
6 JennyBrightmore (Worcester)
7 MarliePacker (Bristol)
8 Jo McGilchrist (Wasps)
Replacements:
16 Vicky Fleetwood (Lichfield)
17 Laura Keates (Worcester)
18 Tamara Taylor(Darlington Mowden Park)
19 Sarah Hunter (Lichfield)
20 La Toya Mason (Wasps)
21 Katy McLean (Darlington Mowden Park)
22 Danielle Waterman (Worcester)

USA v England: The official view

I generally dislike publishing RFU press releases without severe editing, but in this case the report does at least answer a few questions that followers of the feed missed. And it will be hours before it appears on rfu.com.

USA Rugby's report has also been published and  there is also a very good post-match interview with the USA captain, but here is Julia Hutton's report from the England camp...

England Women open Nations Cup campaign with hard fought USA win

England 15 USA 11

England Women opened their Nations Cup campaign with a hard fought 15-11 victory over the USA on Tuesday night at Appleby College in Ontario, Canada, with only an extra-time try sealing the win. The defending champions and Six Nations title holders banked the victory thanks to tries from skipper Katy McLean, Vice-captain Margaret Alphonsi and Richmond lock Rowena Burnfield, who scored the crucial match winning try in the 87th minute.

The USA pushed England all the way and a try from Victoria Folayan and two penalties from centre Pam Kosanke kept their charge going as they led 11-10 in the dying minutes of the game. In a new look England line-up, which saw Victoria Fleetwood, Laura Keates, Kay Wilson, Jenny Brightmore, Natasha Hunt and Sarah McKenna all making their debuts, England did however dominate much of the match but also squandered several try scoring opportunities.

Street said: “The importance of this tournament was evident in this match with the physicality and pressure from the USA. It is a different challenge to the Six Nations so it is vital for the development of some of our younger and less experienced players. Introducing six new caps to international rugby will bear fruit in the future and we showed great maturity to win the game late on. We will get better as the tournament progresses and we look forward to playing South Africa on Friday.”

With the Eagles kicking off the game Wasps’ Joanne McGilchrist took the ball nicely and McLean kicked well for territory and the backs chased well. Lichfield centre Emily Scarratt hit some great lines in the early stages of the game but the USA backs defended well and their line speed was good to close down a lot of what England were trying to do. Richmond lock Becky Essex also came close to scoring after ten minutes with a great line break but England were unable to score from it.

Fly-half McLean then had the chance to put England’s first points on the board with a 12th minute penalty, but she couldn’t make the score and although fullback Danielle Waterman showed some great feet and creativity heading straight back at the USA on the counter attack again England couldn’t break the USA’s line. England’s patience paid off though and some more impressive footwork by Waterman from England’s 22 and some superb support by wing Fran Matthews saw England finally break the deadlock with McLean scoring in the corner on 24 minutes. McLean, however, couldn’t add the conversion.

America clawed their way back to 5-3 with Pam Kosanke adding a 32nd minute penalty and they could have in fact taken the lead moments later with a second penalty, but to England’s relief the ball went wide. The USA took control of the game in the second-half with their one and only try of the game. Wing Folayan took the ball nicely from a kick and some strong running, where she evaded a handful of tackles, saw her score. Kosanke missed the conversion but the USA took the 8-5 lead on 48 minutes.

England managed to turn the tables on America though with flanker Alphonsi at the heart of the action, scoring England’s second try on her 55th cap, although with McLean missing the conversion England only led 10-8. England’s lead was short-lived though and some careless errors, including being off-side, handed the USA the chance to go ahead with a 56th minute penalty. With Kosanke converting, they did, and led 11-10.

England were far from down and out though and threw everything they had at the USA in attempt to retake the lead. A fired-up Amy Garnett, making her 97th appearance for England, took a quick tap penalty, passing the ball to Claire Allan who battled her way against the Eagles’ defensive line. A superbly placed kick from McLean handed England a lineout in USA’s 22, but again the points didn’t come.

The USA, however, buckled under the pressure with Sarah Chobot showed the yellow card for persistent foul play on 73 minutes leaving England with a one-man advantage. England went close another two times, but again couldn’t break the try line, and McLean also missed a late penalty attempt. The Red Roses didn’t give up though and after a period of sustained pressure which saw several scrums on America’s line, lock Burnfield finally broke through, powering her way over the try-line to score in the last play of the game. With McLean missing the conversion England took the 15-11 victory.

England next play South Africa on Friday at 930pm BST. Nations Cup match action is available at www.womensnationscup.com

England

15 Danielle Waterman (Worcester), 14 Francesca Matthews, (Richmond), 13Emily Scarratt (Lichfield), 12 Alice Richardson, (Richmond), 11 Kay Wilson (Richmond), 10 Katy McLean (Darlington Mowden Park) (C), 9 La Toya Mason (Wasps), 1 Rochelle Clark (Worcester), 2 Victoria Fleetwood (Lichfield), 3 Laura Keates (Worcester), 4 Rebecca Essex(Richmond), 5 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park), 6 Joanna McGilchrist (Wasps), 7 Margaret Alphonsi (Saracens) VC, 8 SarahHunter (Lichfield). Replacements: 16 Amy Garnett (Saracens), 17 Sophie Hemming (Bristol), 18 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond), 19 Jennifer Brightmore (Worcester), 20 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield), 21 SarahMcKenna (Old Albanians), 22 ClaireAllan (Richmond)

Tries: McLean, Alphonsi, Burnfield

Substitutions: Garnett for Fleetwood (50), Hemming for Keates (50), Burnfield for Essex (50), Allan for Wilson (50), Brightmore for McGilchrist (60), Hunt for Mason (50), McKenna for Richardson (77).

The agony and ecstasy

England won their opening game in the Nations Cup at around 1am (ie. a few minutes ago) but the real victors were the USA. In the lead until the dying final play of the game, the USA matched the England team all the way.

It was abundantly clear who had done their homework for this game - and it was not Gary Street. England came out and attempted to play their forward-based game that steamrollered them to yet another 6 Nations earlier in the year - and hit a brick wall. Indeed more than that - a brick wall that bit back.

Suddenly Plan A did not work - and the result was less than impressive as there did not seem to be much of a Plan B. Okay, in that opening period England were playing into an annoying breeze, but even so it took them well into the latter part of the first half before a weaving run from Nollie Waterman lead to a move that finally broke the deadlock, captain McLean touching down.

For a period the USA were rattled, but their nerve held - and a penalty near the end of the half saw them go in only 5-3 down. It was all on the half-time talks now, and the USA clearly won that battle as well, coming out with their tails up and going ahead with a try shortly after the restart.

After this it all gets a bit confusing as the video feed from Canada started to break down - possibly under the strain of some 500 or more viewers. An unseen England try put the favourites ahead, but that was soon followed by a penalty to the USA that took the score to 11-10... which is where it stayed for an agonising final period. Agonising for internet viewers as the feed struggled to cope with the strain, as well as the players. The USA won possession, but a lack of experience showed as they were unable to run the clock down - deciding to kick deep, and thus give away possession.

England roared back and with barely a minute on the clock England had a penalty by the far touchline. Katy opted for the kick... and missed. From the 22 USA regain possession, and again kicked... seconds too early. A line out from what was the final play of the game, the ball worked to the far side, and England ruck 5m out.... and the feed failed AGAIN!!

Five minutes of agony for those at home. Rumours of a USA win flooded the discussions, but nothing official from the ground. Breathless wait - then the score flashed up. USA 11, England 15. Somehow England had pulled the game around. Somehow.

So its a win, but not deserved. England were predictable, unimaginative, and just not up for the game. USA had clearly planned for this with precision, were totally up for it, knew England's moves better than many England players did and so nearly pulled off the shock of the decade.

The good news is that - at last - England have been put through the ringer. They need games like this, and will emerge a better team - we hope. They better had, as if the USA can do this to them heaven alone knows what the Black Ferns will do!

Earlier Canada beat South Africa 52-17. I think we know who will be in the final.