February 5th, 2007

England Women’s Head Coach Geoff Richards has today (Monday) named an unchanged 22-women team for England’s RBS 6 Nations match against Italy at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday February 10th, kick-off 415pm.

England head into the clash on a winning note following the defending Six Nations Grand Slam champions’ 60-0 win over Scotland on Saturday which saw Saracens fullback Charlotte Barras claim three of England’s ten tries.

Richards said: “I was very pleased with the performance against Scotland last weekend and it was great to see so many new caps come on the field and hold their own.

“I have decided to stick with the same line-up for a second week running because the team, which is relatively new, need more time to gel. Although we scored lots of tries last weekend we need to learn to play more instinctively. We haven’t yet got enough cohesion as a team and that is something I know will come with time. There are many pluses to take from our first game – our structure and shape were good and we played with a lot of width, intensity and pace – but we fell down on a lack of timing sometimes and we need to work on that.

“I would like to congratulate all the players on their performances though and the likes of Sophie Hemming, Claire Allan and Jo McGilchrist played exceptionally well considering they started their first ever game for England.”

For Italy, the match will not only be their second-ever RBS 6 Nations game but also their first ever outing on the hallowed turf of Twickenham Stadium.

Richards added: “Considering Italy managed to put 17 points on France in their 37-17 defeat at the weekend I am expecting Italy to prove tougher opponents than Scotland on Saturday.

“They have also certainly got the occasion to rise to, playing at Twickenham Stadium for the first ever time so I imagine they’ll be very enthusiastic. What a way to christen your debut season in the RBS 6 Nations.

“For us personally I think it is fantastic we are playing our game at Twickenham and to be playing directly after the men hopefully people will stay behind after the game and discover what an exciting game women’s rugby is.”

England team v Italy

1 Sophie Hemming (Clifton),
2 Amy Garnett (Saracens),
3 Katy Storie (Blaydon),
4 Tamara Taylor (Thirsk),
5 Jo McGilchrist (Wasps),
6 Georgia Stevens (Clifton),
7 Maggie Alphonsi (VC) (Saracens),
8 Catherine Spencer (Worcester),
9 Susie Appleby (Clifton),
10 Karen Andrew (Saracens),
11 Danielle Waterman (Clifton),
12 Rachel Burford (Saracens),
13 Claire Allan (Saracens),
14 Sue Day (Wasps) (c),
15 Charlotte Barras (Saracens).
Replacements:
16 Emma Layland (Richmond),
17 Vanessa Gray (Wasps),
18 Sarah Beale (Leos),
19 Sarah Hunter (Lichfield),
20 Katy McLean (Thirsk),
21 Michaela Staniford (Wasps),
22 Amber Penrith (Cardiff Quins)

RBS Women’s 6 Nations Table

Country  P  W  D  L  For  Against  Points
England  1  1  0  0  60  0   2
France  1  1  0  0  37  17   2
Wales  1  1 0  0  10  5   2
Ireland  1  0  0  1  5  10   0
Scotland  1  0  0  1   0  0   60
Italy   1  0  0  1  17  37   0 0

England Six Nations Fixtures:

England v Scotland, February 3rd, kick-off 230pm at Old Albanians RFC WON 60-0
England v Italy, February 10th, kick-off 415pm at Twickenham
Ireland v England, February 26th, kick-off 2pm at Thomond Park, Limerick
England v France, March 11th, kick-off 145pm at Old Albanians RFC
Wales v England, March 17th, kick-off 230pm at Taffs Wells, near Cardiff RFC

Ends…