A huge crowd at a breezy Brighton watched England start their last group-stage match with a string of errors. Was it nerves, or over-confidence or wrong selections? Amy Cokayne failed to find her line-out target three times; Meg Jones threw two wild passes. As they regained possession in deep defence, they ran the ball out
This is the 23 John Mitchell has summoned for the third and last round of the preliminaries: 15 KILDUNNE 14 DOW 13 JONES 12 HEARD 11 BREACH 10 HARRISON 9 HUNT 1 BOTTERMAN 2 COKAYNE 3 MUIR 4 GALLIGAN 5 WARD 6 TALLING 7 KABEYA 8 MATTHEWS (captain) 16 ATKIN-DAVIES 17 CLIFFORD 18 BERN 19
England may have finished the easy winners we all expected, but no-one should deny Samoa’s right to be there. They played throughout with pride and courage. A much changed Red Roses side took three minutes to secure their first score through Meg Jones. Two debutants, Lilli ives Campion with a clean take, then Jade Shekells
The crucial issue for the Red Roses was, who was fit to play? The good news is that Helena Rowland, Claudia Moloney-Macdonald and Mackenzie Carson are all aboard, Rowland slotting in at 10 for a change. That means in turn that Holly Aitchison is still AWOL. Two players. Abi Burton and Lilli ives Campion make
England started their long-awaited pursuit of the World Cup hesitantly. Later the cork popped out and the fizz flowed. Thr forwards failed to take the kick-off on the full and had to scramble. This was repeated twice more, leaving Abbie Ward in uncomfortable gymnastic positions. The Eagles pressed hard, built nice little moves but couldn’t
As we creep ever closer to opening time, English voices grow more concerned. I’ve asked before: what can possibly go wrong? One curt answer is, the opposition proving better on the day. But the Red Roses have all the advantages: the top-ranked side for ages, one loss in the last 59 matches, unparalleled strength across
University of Bath graduate Natasha Hunt is aiming to win a second Women’s Rugby World Cup title with England – and this time on home soil. The 2025 tournament kicks off on Friday with the host nation taking on the United States at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, live on BBC1 (7.30pm). Hunt will win her
This is the squad John Mitchell has selected to play the USA Eagles on Friday evening: 15 KILDUNNE 14 DOW 13 JONES 12 HEARD 11 BREACH 10 HARRISON 9 HUNT 1 BOTTERNAN 2 COKAYNE 3 MUIR 4 TALLING 5 WARD 6 ALDCROFT (captain) 7 KABEYA 8 MATTHEWS 16 ATKIN-DAVIES 17 CLIFFORD 18 BERN 19 GALLIGAN
Team Bath Netball’s Alanna Pullen and University of Bath sporting scholar Sophie Kelly have been named in the England U21 squad for the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup, taking place in Gibraltar from 19-28 September. Trendell Sporting Scholar Jayda Pechova is a non-travelling reserve for the tournament, which features the top 20 teams in the
The Red Roses achieved their sixteenth consecutive win over France in a strangely shaped match in Mont-de-Marsan. For once les Bleues failed to score a single try. They depended on Morgane Bourgeois’ boot for their points. More striking was England’s reversion to type: the style that caused so much dissension up to the last RWC
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