Becky Grey of the BBC reports that the Red Roses are flying direct to New Zealand by economy class, since the RFU regrets they are loss-making. It is curious that the first time the players have had to pay for their inability to make a profit is precisely when they are on their way to
The first news to break came three days before the official announcement: Natasha ‘Mo’ Hunt has evidently missed the cut. Her place as No 3 among the cast-list of scrum-halves to be taken by Lucy Packer. We can search where we like for reasons, but the fact remains that Packer’s performances for the Red Roses
1. Professional contracts. Let’s get that one out of the way; pro v am is not a good look for women’s rugby. 2. The Premier 15s league. It isn’t perfect, but it places its participants far ahead of any equivalent league abroad. The RFU has very tough calls to make before finalising its plans for the
Head coach Simon Middleton has named his England Women matchday squad to play Wales in the Summer Nations Series on Wednesday. The Red Roses take on Ioan Cunningham’s side at Ashton Gate, Bristol (Wednesday 14 September, kick-off 7.30pm and live on ITV4 and ITV Hub). Sarah Hunter returns to captain the side at No 8
For all the glamour of another big occasion at Sandy Park, all the players knew it was judgement day. A failure to put in a performance, and that was goodbye to a flight to New Zealand. For the English it could mean months of the toughest preparations would come to nothing. Simon Middleton had his
All twelve head coaches taking their squad to the World Cup face the same urgent question: how to extract the maximum benefit from the tiny number of warm-up games they have available – at the most three. As Simon Middleton announces his team to face the USA at Exeter on Saturday, we can see how
England Women’s Summer Nations Series matches against USA and Wales will be shown on ITV. Both matches will be broadcast on ITV4 and ITV Hub. Match coverage details as follows: England v USA on Saturday 3 September. Coverage starts at 2.30pm on ITV4 with kick-off at 3pm, played at Sandy Park, Exeter. England v Wales
The only surprise about Simon Middleton’s choice of 39 players for his World Cup training squad is the lack of surprises. The one exception is Laura Keates (Worcester Warriors), who has made a great comeback after many years in the wilderness, plagued by injury. She was first capped in the front row in 2011. The
The England Women’s Rugby squad are returning to the University of Bath this week for the first of three mini training camps as they continue to fine-tune their preparations for this Autumn’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. It is the second successive year that the Red Roses have trained at the University and they
The training squad of 37 that Simon Middleton has announced contains several pieces of heartening news. Claudia Macdonald takes pride of place as she is restored to health after a career-threatening neck injury. Second, the inclusion of Abby Dow after her broken leg in the Wales match. While we can’t assume she will be fully
Social Networks