Round 4 – Saturday Match Previews
Fixtures:
England v Ireland, Twickenham Stadium, KO 14.15
Italy v Scotland, Parma, KO 16.45
The four teams are shown below.
England v Ireland
The big news – though it goes completely unmentioned in the team announcement and Scott Bemand’s comment – is the absence of Sam Monaghan from the ranks. It’s as if it’s too obvious and painful to include. The cause may well be the recurrence of an earlier concussion.
Apart from that disappointment there is only one further change: Aoife Dalton comes into the centre.
It will be an emotional day for Bemand, as he brings his own Irish team back to Twickenham, scene of some of the Red Roses’ great triumphs. He was integral to much of the success they have known over the past nine years. Now he has to use his tactical brain and experience to prepare his young charges for facing the strongest team in the world, and in front of the largest crowd they will have ever known.
He has emphasised the importance of remaining balanced after a good win; don’t get carried away by it, then any future downturn won’t seem so bad.
Of all the Celtic Nations it was the Irish who gave England their tightest finish for years. That was the 27-0 defeat at Doncaster four years ago. So they have form.
John Mitchell has revealed his strategy. It is to provide the strongest XV he can find, with minor changes only where necessary. So to ensure Marlie Packer can enjoy captaining the side at HQ, Zoe Aldcroft returns to the second row at the expense of Abbie Ward, and Morwenna Talling makes a belated return on the blind-side.
That leaves a whole host of other squad members who are unlikely to gain a cap this season. Mitchell will be even less likely to experiment next week.
This might be the day when England decide to return to their former ways and score a heap more points than in the first three rounds (48, 46 and 46). In the good (bad?) old days it used to be 60 or 70+.
We can confidently expect certain corners of London being eerily quiet, as Irish supporters flock to TW2.
Teams
England:
15 Ellie Kildunne 14 Abby Dow 13 Meg Jones 12 Tatyana Heard 11 Jess Breach 10 Holly Aitchison 9 Mo Hunt 1 Hannah Botterman 2 Lark Atkin-Davies 3 Maud Muir 4 Zoe Aldcroft 5 Rosie Galligan 6 Sadia Kabeya 7 Marlie Packer (captain) 8 Alex Matthews
16 Connie Powell 17 Mackenzie Carson 18 Kelsey Clifford 19 Morwenna Talling 20 Maddie Feaunati 21 Lucy Packer 22 Emily Scarratt 23 Sydney Gregson
Ireland
15 Lauren Delany 14 Katie Corrigan 13 Eve Higgins 12 Aoife Dalton 11 Béibhinn Parsons 10 Dannah O’Brien 9 Aoibheann Reilly 1 Linda Djougang 2 Neve Jones 3 Christy Haney 4 Dorothy Wall 5 Hannah O’Connor 6 Aoife Wafer 7 Edel McMahon (captain) 8 Brittany Hogan
16 Clíodhna Moloney 17 Niamh O’Dowd 18 Sadhbh McGrath 19 Fiona Tuite 20 Shannon Ikahihifo 21 Molly Scuffil-McCabe 22 Enya Breen 23 Méabh Deely
Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
Coverage: BBC Two, iPlayer, BBC Sport website & app from 13:45 to 16:30
Italy v Scotland
This is a vital game for both teams, as it is likely to determine their chances of qualifying for WXV1. Both can hope to jump ahead of Ireland in the race for third place.
Nanni Raineri has made several changes, the most welcome seeing the return of skipper Elisa Giordano to No 8. It’s also significant for Veronica Madia and Isabella Locatelli, who will both celebrate their 50th cap (Locatelli’s coming from the bench). Spare a thought too for Lucia Gai, who will be looking forward to her 99th cap in the front row – some accomplishment. At the other extreme Raineri introduces 19-year-old debutant Sara Mannini to the bench as a midfielder.
Against France the Azzurre had plenty of possession, but, across a 20-minute period of dominance, had to be satisfied with a penalty by Beatrice Rigoni.
Completing the job will be a central aim for them as they come up against the Scots, who had their moment of glory in Cardiff in Round One – a fading memory now? It’s a confidence boost for the Italians that they showed they could fight to the end against France; Alyssa D’Inca scored twice late on. But she now finds herself placed at outside centre, where she has performed before.
Bryan Easson has made three changes: Molly Wright comes in at loose-head; Eva Donaldson makes her first start at lock and Lisa Thomson resumes at 12.
Most significantly, it will be Rhona Lloyd’s 50th cap, as she has succeeded in combining a Sevens career in GB 7s with the 15-a-side team.
Teams:
Italy
15 Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi 14 Aura Muzzo 13 Alyssa D’Incа 12 Beatrice Rigoni 11 Francesca Granzotto 10 Veronica Madia 9 Sofia Stefan 1 Silvia Turani 2 Vittoria Vecchini 3 Sara Seye 4 Sara Tounesi 5 Giordana Duca 6 Ilaria Arrighetti 7 Francesca Sgorbini 8 Elisa Giordano (captain)
16 Laura Gurioli 17 Gaia Maris 18 Lucia Gai 19 Valeria Fedrighi 20 Isabella Locatelli 21 Beatrice Veronese 22 *Sara Mannini 23 Beatrice Capomaggi
*uncapped
Scotland
15 Chloe Rollie 14 Rhona Lloyd 13 Emma Orr 12 Lisa Thomson 11 Francesca McGhie 10 Helen Nelson 9 Caity Mattinson 1 Molly Wright 2 Lana Skeldon 3 Christine Belisle 4 Eva Donaldson 5 Louise McMillan 6 Rachel Malcolm (captain) 7 Alex Stewart 8 Evie Gallagher
16 Elis Martin 17 Leah Bartlett 18 Elliann Clarke 19 Fi McIntosh 20 Rachel McLachlan 21 Mairi McDonald 22 Meryl Smith 23 Coreen Grant
Referee: Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZR)
UK Coverage: BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app 16:30 to 18:45
