What a wonderful 23 the Barbarians’ management has assembled to face the Springboks a third time. It is full of stars whom we thought we’d never see in action again. It’s another delight that we are presented with a straightforward 23; this is a single encounter, so no need to offer a squad, then guess
Scotland become the first nation I’ve spotted to announce their squad for the coming WXV2 tournament. It is: Forwards Leah Bartlett (Leicester Tigers), Christine Belisle (Loughborough Lightning), Sarah Bonar (Harlequins), Elliann Clarke (Bristol Bears), Lisa Cockburn (unattached), Eva Donaldson (Leicester Tigers), Evie Gallagher (Bristol Bears), Jade Konkel (Harlequins), Rachel Malcolm (Loughborough Lightning), Elis Martin (Loughborough
We now have our fifth and final Red Roses training squad. It is: Forwards: Aldcroft, Allen, Atkin-Davies, Bern, Botterman, Brock, Burns, Campbell, Carson, Cleall, Clifford, Cokayne, Feaunati, Ives Campion, Matthews, Muir, Nigrelli, Packer M., Pam, Talling (20) Backs: Aitchison, Breach, Bradley, Buchanan, Dow, Harrison, Heard, Hendy, Hunt, Kildunne, Murray, Packer L, Rowland, Scarratt, Sing, Westcombe-Evans,
Eating Cake Sara Orchard of the BBC has interviewed Ellie Kildunne about her immediate prospects (www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c703rpp09lro). It turns on some of the central questions facing everyone in the game, from the individual player to World Rugby itself: the old chestnut: Fifteens or Sevens, or both? Kildunne has rejoined the Red Roses squad as it prepares
The first part of Alice Soper’s deep dive into women’s pro-rugby is a must-read (www.scrumqueens.com/features/the-professional-era-part-1. It serves to confirm my view that the world of rugby as a whole is in a troubled state. Not one nation has solved the problem of setting its female rugby players on a stable financial platform. In the last
John Mitchell has announced his fourth of five training squads as England prepare for their two September internationals and WXV1. It is: Backs: Aitchison, Breach, Buchanan, Dow, Harrison, Hendy, Heard, Hunt, Kildunne, McKenna, Murray, Packer L, Rowland, Scarratt, Sing, Westcombe-Evans, Wyrwas (17) Forwards: Aldcroft, Atkin-Davis, Bern, Botterman, Brock, Carson, Campbell, Cleall, Clifford, Cokayne, Else, Feaunati,
Megan Jones has been ruled out of the upcoming September internationals and the WXV 1 tournament. The centre has sustained a significant ankle injury which requires surgery. Red Roses head coach John Mitchell said: “It’s always upsetting when you lose a teammate to injury, especially someone with Meg’s personality, capability and leadership. “When you lose
The RFU is marking a significant milestone: exactly a decade since England beat Canada in Paris to win a second World Cup. A reminder of the team: 15 Danielle Waterman 14 Kat Merchant 13 Emily Scarratt 12 Rachael Burford 11 Kay Wilson 10 Katy Mclean (captain) 9 Natasha Hunt 1 Rochelle Clark 2 Vicky Fleetwood
Black Ferns The Ferns are coming northwards! You can read the official news here. The list contains plenty of names familiar to European eyes. In the backs Ayesha Leti-I’iga is restored after a lengthy injury, almost inevitably an ACL. She caused the Red Roses a heap of problems on her last visit, and England didn’t
The Black Ferns coaching group have today named an exciting 30-player squad for their highly anticipated end of year tour where they will play England at Twickenham, before venturing to Canada for WXV1 in September. The much-anticipated return of talented 21-Test winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga and 23 Test co-captain Kennedy Simon are highlights of the experienced
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