‘The man who wasn’t there’ is a 2001 movie by the Coen brothers narrating the story of a laconic, chain-smoking barber who blackmails his wife and lover for money to invest in dry-cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong. Fortunately for the RFU the only connection between that unseemly tale and the arrival of John
First things first. This is not the 23 we can expect Louis Deacon to send out against France or New Zealand over the following two weekends, (see below). As usual the official announcement avoids any mention of possible niggles or longer term injuries, so we have to assume it is an open selection based on
More unfortunate withdrawals Two of England’s injured players have now been confirmed as unable to make the trip to New Zealand. They are Lucy Packer and Sadia Kabeya. Their replacements are Daisy Hibbert-Jones who is uncapped, and Emma Sing, who has earned five caps over the past two seasons. While DH-J is a direct replacement
Red Roses flanker Sadia Kabeya and scrum-half Lucy Packer will miss the inaugural WXV tournament due to injury. Kabeya will continue to rehabilitate her hamstring after missing the Summer Series matches against Canada, while Packer sustained an ankle injury in the second Test which will keep her sidelined. Loughborough Lightning’s Daisy Hibbert-Jones and Emma Sing
It was kind of Fi Tomas to confirm my worst fears (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2023/10/01/england-women-red-roses-natasha-hunt-lucy-packer-wxv/) about the nonsensical appointment of John Mitchell as the successor to Simon Middleton. The RFU in its wisdom decided on the following: To appoint a man, not a woman To appoint a man two years older than 57-year-old Middleton To appoint a New
Here are the 30 players to represent England in the inaugural WXV: Forwards: Zoe Aldcroft (co-vice-captain, Gloucester-Hartpury), Maisy Allen (Exeter Chiefs), Lark Atkin-Davies (Bristol Bears), Sarah Beckett (Gloucester-Hartpury), Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears), Hannah Botterman (Bristol Bears), Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury), Kelsey Clifford (Saracens), Amy Cokayne (Leicester Tigers), Rosie Galligan (Saracens), Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning), Alex Matthews
England v Canada This was far from a convincing win for the English. A player up after eighteen minutes, they still struggled to hold the Canadians in check. This was the second game of the day to suffer a red card. My fears about the coming WXV, not to mention all future internationals, are not
We now know both teams for the return bout between England and Canada at the StoneX Stadium, London Canada Kevin Rouet has made a number of changes. Coming into the starting XV are Olivia DeMerchant (prop), Sara Svoboda (flanker) and Taylor Perry (centre). The one new cap is Krissy Scurfield on the left wing; she
Louis Deacon has almost completely recast his squad to face Canada second time round. It means he is intent on seeing as many of his likely 30 choices for his WXV squad as possible before they fly out. The squad: 15 Ellie Kildunne, 14 Jess Breach 13 Megan Jones 12 Amber Reed 11 Claudia Macdonald
England v Canada, Sandy Park, Exeter Ellie Kildunne caught the eye with one of her greatest displays in an England shirt. After Marlie Packer made her first decisive jackal in the first minute, Kildunne was on the end of a delicate cross-chip by Holly Aitchison; she shifted it on to Abby Dow, who managed to
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