As many of the England Men head for New Zealand with the Lions, England’s Women will be welcoming the South Africans for their first tour to the northern hemisphere.

England who finished second behind France in this years’ Six Nations will be keen to finish the season in style. Playing the South Africans will be a good test for the new look England side that hopes to regain the World Cup from New Zealand in Canada in 2006.

In hosting the Springboks for the first time, Geoff Richards, England Head Coach commented:

“We are very excited about the prospect of playing South Africa for the first time. They are an emerging international women’s team, who seem to have a lot of support from their rugby union. They are keen to progress on the world stage and I’m sure the matches will reflect this.“

The SARFU (South African Rugby Football Union) has only introduced women’s rugby in the last 5 years in a quest to grow and diversify rugby in South Africa. Under coach Thobile Dunjwa, the 35-member Springbok squad will be playing four representative fixtures against England. Dunjwa said:

“We are honoured to play one of the world’s best women’s rugby teams. Playing four high quality matches in two weeks will be the biggest test yet, however I believe we have immense talent in our country, and the team is slowly developing into a world-class outfit."

The matches will be an exciting prospect for all involved with England players keen to make an impression on Richards. Wing and centre Charlotte Barras added:

“It is a unique opportunity for those involved in the development sides to step up to the mark and be counted. There is a lot of pressure on all four squads to perform, in particular the seniors. The South Africa matches are a steppingstone towards the autumn tour and then the World Cup in 2006. We have to play as well, if not better than we have in the recent Six Nations.“

The England squads for the games will be announced following training at the end of April.

The touring schedule in full is as follows:

Tuesday 3rd May – England Students v South Africa, KO 6pm @ Aylesbury RFC, Aylesbury
Saturday 7th May – England A v South Africa, KO 3pm @ Old Albanians RFC, St Albans
Tuesday 10th May – Academy v South Africa, KO 6:30pm @ Old Albanians RFC, St Albans
Saturday 14th May – England v South Africa, KO 3pm @ Imber Court, Surrey

Ends