- England target world cup victory
- 760 caps shared between England team
England Head Coach Gary Street has named his team to face the reigning world champions New Zealand in the final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup on Sunday, September 5th, kick off 515pm at the Twickenham Stoop.
Street, whose side defeated Australia 15-0 in the semi finals, has selected an extremely strong squad which boasts 760 caps. England’s most capped player ever Amy Garnett with 90 caps starts at hooker while captain Catherine Spencer will lead the team at No. 8. Sophie Hemming returns in the front row while Lichfield’s Sarah Hunter joins Margaret Alphonsi and Spencer in the backrow in place of Heather Fisher. Fisher was unavailable for selection because of a hand injury.
In the backs, Katherine Merchant comes in on the wing in place of Fiona Pocock, who also sustained a knee injury during Wednesday’s semi finals. Centre Rachael Burford comes back in at centre.
Street said: “The World Cup Final is a huge challenge, but it's what we've been preparing for, for a long time and we're confident that we can achieve our aim and lift the world cup. The pool games have been incredibly tough and physical and a great spectacle for the viewers.
"However, our unwavering plan of using all 26 squad players has got us to this point fresh and it is a testament to the quality of every player we have. Although we have now picked up a couple of injuries, the depth means that we can carry on as normal and shuffle the pack. Heather and Fiona have been a massive part of our success to date and they'll be in our hearts on Sunday.”
England last played the three times reigning world champions in November in a two test series in England and the two sides picked up a win each, most noticeably for England winning 10-3 in front of a record crowd at Twickenham Stadium live on television and securing their first win over the Black Ferns in eight years.
Street added: “This final promises to be a titanic clash between the best two female sides in the world and I've no doubt that the television audience and the large crowd at the Stoop will be treated to a fantastic game of rugby.
“The squad we have selected is probably the most experienced squad in history even though it is still relatively young. We have power up front and great quality in our backline, which means we can play a multi faceted game. We need to reduce our error count with the ball but keep up our tremendous defensive effort we have showed so far. Our job is to complete the dream and pick up the trophy on Sunday evening.”
Click the following link to listen to the official WRWC final preview show.
Tickets are still available for the final at the Twickenham Stoop on Sunday, September 5. You can buy tickets now via RFU.com or by calling Ticketmaster on +44 (0)844 844 2010. For a full schedule of fixtures and to follow England in the WRWC visit www.rfu.com/wrwc.