England 29 France 25: England Women crowned European Cup champions

Posted on May 21, 2012 in England Women

England Women added the European Cup crown to the Six Nations Grand Slam title they have already won this season with a thrilling 29-25 victory over France in Rovereto, Italy on Saturday night.

An injury time try for Worcester wing Lydia Thompson, who made her England debut just seven days ago in the tournament opener, secured the victory in the dying minutes of the game.

The match, which was billed as the winner takes all clash, was a typical England versus France encounter with both sides fired up and giving everything they had to secure the win and the crown.

But in the end it was England’s tenacity that paid off as they came from a 22-25 deficit to take the title away from France in style.

England Head Coach for this tour Graham Smith, who blooded seven new caps over seven days, said: “This has been a tour of opportunity for all the players involved and I can safely say every single player involved has taken this opportunity with both hands.

“This was a scintillating game, but as a coach a hard game to watch. We certainly controlled the first half but after the restart it was a different matter and France took control when we couldn’t get our consistency going and we did not defend as well. We also gave away too many penalties and France were able to take those points and that put us in a precarious position.

“However, we never gave up and after making some changes from the bench we took our opportunities, with Sally Tuson scoring a late try and then Lydia Thompson touching down for the crucial score in extra time.

“We are obviously delighted to have won the European Cup and defended our title but I am more delighted about the fact that we have underlined what talent we have coming through our system. It has also been great to have Simon Middleton on board as Assistant Coach for this championship. He has made a real impression and we are fortunate to have a coach of his calibre involved in the England set-up.”

England took the European Cup crown the hard way going 3-0 behind in the early stages after French full-back Jessy Tremouliere converted a penalty when England were penalised for holding on.

France and England then battled it out in a typical clash between these two sides, which saw them neck and neck for the next forty minutes. England had their chances, with both Katherine Merchant and Thompson going close but France defended staunchly and kept their fierce rivals out.

In the end France’s line did break when Bristol flanker Marlie Packer made some space before offloading to Thompson, who had both the power and the pace to dive over the try-line. Emily Scarratt (PICTURED) added the conversion to hand England a 7-3 lead at the break.

After the restart though, France turned the tables and a 42nd minute try for substitute Elordie Portaries, after a good line-out, catch and drive, saw them take a 7-10 lead.

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Italy 8 England 32

Posted on May 16, 2012 in England Women

England women on course to defend their crown

England Women are on course to defend their European Cup crown after a second successive victory, this time against Italy, which saw Graham Smith’s side run in six tries against a determined Italian outfit in Rovereto, Italy.

Bristol’s Sally Tuson, on just her second cap, ran in a brace of tries, while Harriet Millar-Mills (pictured), Lydia Thompson, another new cap, Danielle Waterman and Rowena Burnfield all crossed Italy’s line. England’s defence also stood up to a tough test with a feisty Italian side pushing England throughout the game.

Smith, who has taken on the Head Coach role for this tour, said: “It may be a cliché but I am extremely pleased and proud of this team. This tournament is proving that we have got some very good players coming through. We have got some really exciting players in Sally Tuson, Lauren Cattell and Lydia Thompson, while our more experienced players have been fantastic leading this young side both on and off the pitch.

“We played some quality rugby today, but at the same time we also need to be more consistent and work on our discipline as we gave away some penalties. Our defence, however, was awesome as Italy really could have scored more tries than they did and it is a testament to this side that we just kept knocking them back. ”

Italy punished England early on when England were penalised at the breakdown and fly-half Veronica Schiavon stroked over a penalty after just two minutes.

But the visitors were by no means put off their stride and a break by Richmond lock Burnfield saw the ball offloaded to Gemma Sharples and then out to the wing and into the clutches of centre Tuson who powered over the line. Chesham fly-half Lauren Cattell couldn’t make the conversion.

14 minutes in and England had established a 10-3 lead. A good England scrum, five metres out, saw the pack drive forward and Lichfield’s No. 8 Millar-Mills picked up to dive over the try-line.

England’s dominance continued with a try straight after the kick off when England secured the ball in their 22. The pack powered forward again, creating a solid platform for the backs which eventually saw vice-captain and fullback Danielle Waterman dive over under the posts.

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England Women’s team announced for European Cup clash against Italy

Posted on May 14, 2012 in England Women

England Women’s Graham Smith has made eight changes, one positional, to the starting line-up that defeated Spain 61-0 on Saturday for Tuesday’s FIRA-AER European Cup clash against Italy, kick off 5pm, BST, in Rovereto, Italy.

Bristol’s Amber Reed is set to make her debut after being named in the starting line-up at centre, while Lichfield’s Fiona Fletcher, who is a late call-up to the squad after an injury to Becky Essex, could also make her England bow if she is called off the bench. 18-year-old Lauren Cattell will make her first start for England at fly-half after coming off the bench against Spain on Saturday and scoring a try on her debut.

Smith has shaken up the pack with a new-look front-row for this game, with Rosemarie Crowley, Vicky Fleetwood and Laura Keates all starting. Rowena Burnfield and Gemma Sharples will also start. Katherine Merchant and Emily Scarratt return to the England XVs set-up after their victory in the IRB Challenge Cup Sevens at the Marriott London Sevens at the weekend.

Graham Smith, who has stepped up to Head Coach for this tournament, said: “Given that the unity of this new looking side has gelled quicker than anticipated I am fully confident that we are capable of putting on a good performance against Italy.

“This will be a big game for Lauren Cattell starting at fly-half and Amber Reed in the centre. Despite her young years, Lauren has taken everything in her stride and she certainly has the potential to be a very good player. Amber has also shown herself to be big and powerful and her running game and distribution are real positives. Teaming up with Silly Tuson in the centres I think they have the potential to be quite a combination.”

England head into Tuesday’s match on the back of an impressive 61-0, 11 try victory over Spain in the opener. Italy are set to be much tougher opponents pushing France to a 22-19 victory at the weekend.

Smith added: “We won’t be underestimating Italy at all. They put on a really good performance against France and we know they will be tricky. They are a big, robust side with a good offload game and some attacking flair. We will certainly be looking to ensure that our scrum and line-out platforms work effectively to create some good ball for our backs, who have the pace to be very dangerous.”

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England Women crowned London IRB Challenge Cup Sevens champions

Posted on May 14, 2012 in England Sevens, England Women

England’s Women secured their second consecutive IRB Challenge Cup Sevens crown on Sunday, defeating the Netherlands 34-7 in impressive style, in the final at Twickenham Stadium.

Worcester’s Joanne Watmore (pictured), who also scored two tries in the final of the Hong Kong leg of this tournament in March, was in fine form and touched down for a hat-trick of tries. Katherine Merchant and Alice Richardson also got on the score-sheet to help secure the victory over a Netherlands side who had been causing upsets all tournament, with wins over world champions Australia and Canada.

England Head Coach Barry Maddocks said: “This has been a great tournament and what a way to end it, winning here in front of thousands of rugby fans and in one of rugby’s greatest stadiums.

“Our performance in the final was excellent. It was a controlled and slick performance and the players worked really hard for this victory. Every one of them played a part. Matches like this, in front of these sorts of crowds and live on television is massive for the development of this sport and we are all thrilled to be a part of it.”

England started the final on the back foot with the Netherlands showing some good support work to break through England’s defence and score. Lorraine Laros converted Annemarije van Rossum try to take a 7-0 lead after just two minutes.

However, some good work by England’s Kay Wilson, Alice Richardson and Emily Scarratt turned the tables and England took a quick tap penalty which set Watmore loose on the left wing to score her first.

Two minutes later and Watmore was on the scoreboard again to the delight of the vociferous Twickenham crowd. This time Richardson and Scarratt created the space for Watmore to run in with ease to take the lead to 10-7.

Just before half-time and England eased their way to a comfortable 17-7 lead when Richardson took a quick penalty deep in the Netherlands’ 22 and inflicted one of her trademark breaks to run in unopposed. Richardson then converted her own try.

Watmore was back in the thick of the action after the restart, causing the Netherlands even more problems. England kept creating the space and Watmore broke and evaded two players to dive over the try-line.

Bristol’s Wilson came close to scoring England’s fifth, but she took a bad knock near the try-line and replacement Merchant came on. Merchant, a prolific try scorer in the XVs game, made an immediate impact scoring nearly on her first touch of the ball. She didn’t quite get over the line but did moments later with a great break out-wide which left the Netherlands with no way to respond.

Merchant then finished off England’s rout when she cut a great line from the back of an England scrum to carve her way through the midfield and score. Richardson kicked the conversion to make the final score 34-7.

England booked their place in the final after a thrilling victory in the semi-finals. England were forced to go to extra time when Canada held them at 12-12. Scarratt, making her England Sevens debut this weekend, touched down for the crucial try after cutting a great line from the back of a scrum.

Maddocks added: “To win two back-to-back Challenge Cups is a massive achievement but this season is by no means over for us. We have got to qualify for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens next month at the European Championships so winning here today is invaluable preparation for that.”

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Robinson: England’s Dan the man to light up sevens world

Posted on May 11, 2012 in England Sevens

World Cup winner Jason Robinson loves to be entertained and hailed England’s Dan Norton as the man who has lit up this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series.

Norton is the leading global try-getter going into the final leg at the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham Stadium this weekend. No Englishman – in a list including Ugo Monye and David Strettle – has scored more heavily in a single season.

The 24 year-old from Bristol has touched down 35 times on big stages everywhere from Hong Kong to Las Vegas on a world tour in which the eight tournament titles have been shared by five different teams so far.

Former England wing Robinson – their try scorer in the 2003 World Cup final victory – admits he wants to see ‘speed, good feet and skills’ more than scrums and lineouts these days.

And the likes of England’s Norton and Mat Turner, and New Zealand’s Lomu-like wing Frank Halai, have provided exactly that since the series kicked off on the Gold Coast in Queensland six months ago.

The single snapshot highlight? Norton’s astonishing try in Hong Kong against Australia, starting from behind his own line before he beat three opponents to go the length of the field and snatch victory on the final play, might just be the best of the lot.

“When you’re playing 15s you are aware of sevens because everyone loves playing it but what I’ve seen this season has been amazing,” said Robinson, an HSBC Ambassador.

“I’ve been astonished going to the different legs as to how much interest has been generated. For guys like Norton, who’s just re-signed for England, it’s fantastic. The best players love big stages and the HSBC Sevens World Series gives them that worldwide.

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