England women secure back to back wins over World Champions

Posted on Nov 30, 2011 in England, English Rugby, Women's Rugby

England Women secured back to back victories over New Zealand for the first time ever tonight (Tuesday) following a dominant 21-7 victory at Esher RFC.

Following Saturday’s 10-0 win over New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium England followed up that win with a three try effort despite making 11 changes to the starting line-up.

Wing Georgina Roberts, skipper Katy McLean and hooker Vicky Fleetwood touched down for tries, with McLean adding two penalties to hand last year’s Rugby World Cup finalists a resounding win. England next take on the Black Ferns in the final game of the series on Saturday at Esher RFC, kick off 2pm.

England Head Coach Gary Street said: “I am so proud of the performances the players have put in, but also really glad that I had faith in the whole squad to make 11 changes for tonight’s game as it proved justified.

“It wasn’t just about getting the points tonight that was important but it was the attitude and the strength the players showed. They didn’t panic when I made the changes to the starting line-up, instead they showed real character.

“The backrow was superb tonight. With three young players starting, they were outstanding. Alexandra Matthews in particular was a revelation playing as an 18 year old against the world champions.

“I have promised the players I will pick the best available side for Saturday’s game but selection will not be easy given the performances of all 26 players in the squad but I am already looking forward to the final game on Saturday already.”

Despite only playing an international test match three days ago England got off to a blistering start. Some great pressure from the kick off saw England drive forward and put the Black Ferns under immediate pressure. Lock Tamara Taylor made a good break but in the end a penalty came their way and fly-half McLean stroked it over with ease, taking a 3-0 lead after just two minutes.

The momentum continued for England with wing Georgina Roberts scoring the first try of the evening on just nine minutes. Again more pressure from England saw New Zealand under the cosh and the loose ball saw England pick up with centre Kim Oliver executing a superb long range pass to set-up Rachael Burford, who had the legs to power through the Black Ferns defence and set-up Roberts on the right wing. McLean couldn’t make the conversion but England still led 8-0.

The world champions hit back though and were certainly showing more fizz and creativity than in the first encounter of this series. A New Zealand scrum saw the ball go loose but scrum half Kendra Cocksedge recovered well to pick up and make a break. Flanker Justine Lavea then finished off the move with a powerful blast over England’s try line. Kelly Brazier added the conversion to reduce the deficit to 8-7.

The remainder of the half went all England’s way though with a series of scrums in New Zealand’s 22. McLean came close to scoring with a nice chip ahead but couldn’t ground it, while No.8 Matthews also pounded New Zealand’s defence on a number of occasions. Another fine attacking move involving Becky Essex and the impressive Natasha Hunt saw England close but in the end the pressure did turn into points for England with McLean converting a penalty while New Zealand lost Vita Robinson to the sin bin.

After the break the tempo of the game remained relentless. New Zealand put England under pressure early on but England made the turnover and instead the visitors were left chasing their rivals after Michaela Staniford made a good break. Hannah Gallagher made some more yards for England before the ball went out-wide to Kat Merchant and then Kay Wilson who came close but was unable to score.

47 minutes in and Mclean added England’s second try. Again following a series of scrums in New Zealand’s 22, England made the most of their chances and scrum half Hunt recycled the ball out to McLean who found a gap to break through and score. She couldn’t make the conversion, and even with England losing Kim Oliver to the sin bin, her side made an even bigger dent on the scoreboard.

This time it was the turn of replacement hooker Vicky Fleetwood to take the honours. An England line-out saw Fleetwood throw in well for her teammate to bounce the ball straight back at her and she then show lightning pace and power to blast through New Zealand’s defence and score after 68 minutes. The score proved decisive with New Zealand, even though they fought to the very end, unable to claw their way back into the game.

England 

15 Kay            Wilson            (Richmond), 14 Georgina Roberts (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 13 Rachael Burford (Richmond), 12 Kimberley       Oliver  (Bristol), 11 Michaela          Staniford        (Wasps), 10 Katy           McLean          (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks) (C), 9 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield), 1 Claire Purdy (Wasps) (VC), 2 Amy Turner (Richmond), 3 Laura        Keates            (Worcester), 4 Rebecca            Essex (Richmond), 5 Tamara        Taylor(Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 6 Hannah Gallagher (Saracens), 7 Marlie            Packer            (Bristol), 8 Alexandra Matthews (Richmond). Replacements: 16 Victoria           Fleetwood     (Lichfield), 17 Sophie Hemming   (Bristol), 18 Rowena            Burnfield            (Richmond), 19 Margaret Alphonsi          (Saracens), 20 La Toya       Mason            (Wasps), 21 Emily  Scarratt (Lichfield), 22 Katherine  Merchant       (Worcester)

Tries: Roberts, McLean, Fleetwood

Conversions:

Penalties: McLean (2)

Substitutions: Merchant for Roberts, Fleetwood for Turner (52), Burnfield for Essex (57), Alphonsi for Gallagher (60), Keates for Hemming (64), Scarratt for Staniford (69).

New Zealand

15 Kelly Brazier, 14 Katarina Whata, 13 Shakira Baker, 12 Amiria Rule, 11 Renee Wickliffe, 10 Rebecca Mahoney, 9 Kendra Cocksedge, 1 Kathleen Wilton, 2 Karina Penetito, 3 Mel Bosman, 4 Vita Robinson, 5 Kalani Matapo, 6 Lydia Crossman, 7 Justine Lavea, 8 Casey Robertson (C). Replacements: 16 Stephanie TeOhaere-Fox, 17 Muteremoana Aiatu, 18 Eloise Blackwell, 19 Aroha Savage, 20 Emma Jensen, 21 Teresa Te Tamaki, 22 Hazel Tubic

Tries: Lavea

Conversions: Brazier

Penalties:

Referee: Philip Davies

Assistant Referees: Paul Kimber & Ken Morgan

England Autumn International Series

Nov 26th England v New Zealand, Twickenham Stadium, WON 10-0

Nov 29th England v New Zealand, Esher RFC, KO 7pm, WON 21-7 www.rfu.com/englandwomenlive

Dec 3rd England v New Zealand, Esher RFC, 2pm, live on www.rfu.com/englandwomenlive

Ireland vs England women’s international

Posted on Mar 16, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

McLean warns of Ireland threat.

England Captain Katy McLean has warned her teammates that Ireland will be out to spoil their Six Nations party this Friday at Ashbourne RFC, kick off 730pm.

McLean is expecting England’s toughest challenge of the RBS 6 Nations as the Red Roses look to secure a record sixth crown and a Grand Slam.

“The Irish are going to be gunning for us come Friday night,” said the England fly-half who skippered her side to a record breaking 89-0 victory against Scotland on Sunday. “England versus Ireland is always a great game to finish the tournament on and they’ll certainly be looking to ruin our party.

“It’s also always really tough to go away to Ireland. There is no way we are going to get complacent. The last game is the most important. We have worked really hard to get ourselves into this position so this is going to be a massive match. We have to turn up, we can’t afford a slow start, it’s going to be a tough old game.”

As the only unbeaten side in the Six Nations England know they must register a win to secure the title but for McLean she insists England won’t be happy unless they register a good performance too.

She added: “Against Scotland the coaches challenged us throughout the game. The aim for us was to improve on our performance against France, we weren’t necessarily looking at the scoreboard but concentrating on putting the elements we had been working on in training into the game. And that was the most pleasing thing for us and we want to do exactly the same against Ireland.”

England Head Coach Gary Street has made two changes to the team that defeated Scotland last weekend. Richmond hooker Emma Croker and Saracens’ Margaret Alphonsi have been called back into the starting line-up. Croker is given her second start of the tournament, while Alphonsi returns as Street once again juggles his competitive backrow line-up.

Ireland Women’s coach Philip Doyle has named his team for the final game of this year’s RBS 6 Nations clash against England.

Doyle has made four changes – three personnel and one positional switch – to the starting XV side that was narrowly defeated by Wales, 15 – 14 last Sunday.

Ailis Egan makes her first start of the season coming in at prop with Lauren Day reverting to the bench. Laura Guest moves to the back row with Heather O’Brien starting alongside Marie Louise Reilly in the second row.

Larissa Muldoon makes her first start having impressed off the bench in recent outings.

Ireland play England in Ashbourne RFC, Meath on Friday 18th March with a 7.30 kick off. Tickets can be purchased at the gate.

Ireland Women v England Women
(RBS 6 Nations Championship, Ashbourne, Friday 18th March 2011 -19:30)

15 – Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemian – Munster)
14 – Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemian – Munster)
13 – Lynne Cantwell (Richmond – Exile)
12 – Geraldine Rea (Highfield – Munster)
11 – Mairead Kelly (UL Bohemian – Munster)
10 – Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere – Leinster)
9 – Larissa Muldoon (UWIC – Exile)
1 -Fiona Coghlan (UL Bohemian – Leinster)
2 – Gillian Bourke (Bristol – Munster)
3 – Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere – Leinster)
4 – Heather O’Brien (Highfield – Munster)
5 – Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere – Leinster)
6 – Laura Guest (Highfield – Munster)
7 – Claire Molloy (Bristol – Connacht)
8 – Joy Neville (UL Bohemian – Munster)

Replacements:
16 – Stacey Kennedy (City of Derry – Ulster)
17 – Lauren Day (Waterloo – Ulster)
18 – Dee O’Brien (Blackrock – Leinster)
19 – Carol Staunton (Galwegians – Connacht)
20 – Amy Davis (Blackrock – Leinster)
21 – Gillian Nolan (St Marys – Leinster)
22 – Jackie Shiels (Richmond – Leinster)

England

15 – Emily Scarratt (Lichfield)
14 – Katherine Merchant (Worcester)
13 – Rachael Burford (Richmond)
12 – Kimberley Oliver (Bristol)
11 – Francesca Matthews (Richmond)
10 – Katy McLean (C) (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
9 – La Toya Mason (Wasps)
1 – Rochelle Clark (Worcester)
2 – Emma Croker (Richmond)
3 – Sophie Hemming (Bristol)
4 – Rebecca Essex(Richmond)
5 – Joanna McGilchrist (Wasps)
6 – Heather Fisher(Worcester)
7 – Margaret Alphonsi (vc) (Saracens)
8 – SarahHunter (Lichfield)

Replacements:

16 – Amy Garnett (Saracens)
17 – Claire Purdy(Wasps)
18 – Rowena Burnfield (Richmond)
19 – Catherine Spencer (Bristol)
20 – Georgina Rozario (Lichfield)
21 – Georgina Roberts (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
22 – Danielle Waterman (Worcester)

England women demolish Scotland

Posted on Mar 14, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

England Women will head to Dublin on Friday night as favourites to secure the RBS 6 Nations title for a sixth successive year and the Grand Slam after a comprehensive 89-0 demolition of Scotland on Sunday at Twickenham Stadium.

England ran in a massive 15 tries on route to the victory at the home of England Rugby which sees the Rugby World Cup finalists continue their unbeaten record at the stadium.

Fran Matthews, Emily Scarratt, Rochelle Clark, Maggie Alphonsi, Danielle Waterman and Heather Fisher all claimed braces of tries whilst flanker Fisher’s blistering efforts earned her the accolade of Player of the Match. England now top the table with an unblemished record while France are the only team who could spoil their party on Friday if England do not complete the Grand Slam.

England Head Coach Gary Street said after the match: “I am really happy with this result. After making some good headway in the first half we stuck to the task after the restart and kept the momentum going. We managed to put on an exciting show for the thousands of fans that stayed behind whilst at the same time we did our basics well and stayed on track in the right direction.

“We must keep on improving though and Friday is going to be a massive game. This is a short turn around for both Ireland and ourselves and we need to manage that well. They’ll be wounded after losing to Wales today so I am sure they will throw everything they have at us come Friday night.”

England were in control from the first kick of the ball with Worcester wing Katherine Merchant putting England ahead after just a minute. Skipper Katy McLean settled England’s nerves with a good kick to touch in Scotland’s half. The tourists couldn’t control their line out and La Toya Mason recycled the ball out to the midfield. Centre Rachael Burford went close on the left wing, before the ball was recycled out to the right again with Matthews setting up Merchant nicely. McLean missed the conversion.

Six minutes later and it was Matthews’ turn to add the first of her two tries. England dominated possession and McLean fed Kim Oliver in the midfield before fullback Scarratt made some good yards to set up Matthews on the left wing.

Next up and it was Scarratt’s turn, playing in just her second game at fullback for England. A good England scrum saw Mason recycle the ball out to McLean and then Scarratt, who spotted a great line to carve her way through Scotland’s defence and score under the posts. McLean this time converted to make the score 17-0 after as many minutes.

Richmond lock Becky Essex claimed try number four for the home side after Catherine Spencer made a good break. Fisher then burst through the midfield. With McLean in support the fly half got the ball out to the left wing and Essex showed great speed and strength to barge her way over the line despite a high tackle from Scotland.

England’s charge continued with prop Rochelle Clark, in fine form again after her prolific efforts against France two weeks ago, finishing off where Burford couldn’t by muscling her way over the try line after another England barrage of attack.

Matthews and then Fisher rounded off proceedings for England in the first half with two strong tries in the space of just five minutes. With McLean adding two more conversions England led 41-0 at the break.

Scotland couldn’t halt England’s charge after the restart and failed to have any answers to the home side’s onslaught. Fisher reopened England’s account after just 30 seconds following a nicely floated McLean pass that enabled the powerhouse flanker to cut a great line and run in from 22 metres out for a converted try.

Lichfield’s Scarratt and Worcester’s Clark added to their tallies within the next ten minutes before replacement Alphonsi stamped her mark on the game. Merchant, ever present on the wing, made some great space and the England flanker was in support to finish off the move in style.

Captain McLean was next on the score sheet on 66 minutes to hand England a 75-0 lead before Alphonsi claimed her second try. This time replacement Waterman was at the heart of the action with a great break. She couldn’t go all the way and again Alphonsi was ready to pounce. She did just that showing tremendous power and pace to secure England’s 13^th try.

With five minutes to go the England train was showing no signs of slowing and Waterman once again showed the rugby crowd her great footwork and pace to dance around Scotland’s defence and score two tries in the dying moments of the game. With McLean adding her seventh conversion England took the 89-0 victory in style. 

England

15        Emily  Scarratt          (Lichfield), 14            Katherine      Merchant (Worcester), 13   Rachael            Burford           (Richmond), 12        Kimberley      Oliver  (Bristol), 11    Francesca     Matthews            (Richmond), 10        Katy    Mclean (C) (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 9          La Toya             Mason            (Wasps), 1     Rochelle Clark (Worcester), 2        Amy    Garnett           (Saracens), 3            Sophie           Hemming (Bristol), 4           Rebecca        Essex(Richmond), 5          Joanna            McGilchrist (Wasps), 6        SarahHunter            (Lichfield), 7  Heather          Fisher(Worcester), 8 Catherine      Spencer         (Bristol). Replacements: 16            Emma            Croker (Richmond), 17            ClairePurdy(Wasps), 18   Rowena         Burnfield (Richmond), 19  Margaret        Alphonsi (vc)            (Saracens), 20         Georgina       Rozario (Lichfield), 21         Georgina       Roberts            (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 22     Danielle         Waterman     (Worcester)

Tries: Merchant, Matthews (2), Scarratt (2), Essex, Clark (2), Fisher (2), Alphonsi (2), McLean, Waterman (2)   

Conversions: McLean (7)

Substitutions: Purdy for Hemming (HT), Alphonsi for Spencer (48), Roberts for Matthews, Burnfield for McGilchrist (both 51), Layland for Garnett (52), Waterman for Oliver, Rozario for Mason (both 59)

Scotland

15        Caroline Collie (Old Albanians), 14 Katy            Green (Murrayfield Wanderers), 13 Annabel Sergeant (Dundee University), 12 Stephanie    Johnston (Hillhead Jordanhill), 11 Laura Steven (Murrayfield Wanderers), 10          Lisa Martin (Murrayfield Wanderers), 9 Louise Dalgliesh        (RHC Cougars), 1   Heather Lockhart (Hillhead Jordanhill), 2           Lindsey Smith (Hillhead Jordanhill), 3            Tracy Balmer (Worcester), 4 Anna Swann (Edinburgh University), 5            Lindsay Wheeler (Darlington Mowden Sharks), 6    Charlotte Veale (Wasps), 7 Ruth Slaven            (Murrayfield Wanderers), 8 Susannah Brown (Richmond). Replacements: 16 Alison MacDonald (RHC Cougars), 17 Elizabeth       Dickens (Murrayfield Wanderers), 18 Tess Forsberg (Richmond), 19Jemma Forsyth (Hillhead Jordanhill), 20 Suzanne McKerlie-Hex, 21 Tanya Griffith (RHC Cougars), 22 Lauren Harris (Aberdeenshire Quines).

Referee: Dana Teagarden

Assistant Referees: Clare Daniels and Clare Hodnett

Half time score: England 41 Scotland0

England’s RBS 6 Nations Fixtures

Wales v England     Feb 6              Cross Keys RFC                              WON 0-19

England v Italy         Feb 12            Esher RFC                            WON 68-5

*England v France Feb 27            Worcester RFC                     WON 16-3

** England v Scotland         March 13       Twickenham Stadium         WON 89-0

Ireland v England    March 18       Ashbourne RFC                  KO 730pm

England women shut out Wales

Posted on Feb 7, 2011 in Rugby News

Wales 0 England 19

England Women became the third English side to defeat Wales this weekend when they inflicted a 19-0 victory over their fierce rivals on Sunday.

Joining the senior men and England Under 20s Gary Street’s side overcame the horrendous wind and rain soaked conditions to run in three tries at Cross Keys RFC.

England, who are targeting a sixth successive Six Nations title and another Grand Slam, dominated the game for most parts and also showed tremendous skill and patience in defence. Tries came courtesy of Richmond wing Fran Matthews, new skipper Katy McLean and Worcester’s Danielle Waterman, while McLean also added two conversions.

England Head Coach Gary Street said: “For most of the game we dominated and we have got to be pleased with that. The conditions were very difficult today and that played its part. We haven’t played since September so I expected a bit of rustiness but we scored some nice tries and our defence was solid as ever. Our next test is against Italy on Saturday and not only will we be looking for a win, but we will be looking for an improved performance.”

It was Matthews who opened up England’s account in the first half with an 11^th minute touchdown. England had all the possession in the opening stages but the rain soaked pitch made the playing conditions difficult.

England, however, always opted to go for the points rather than the posts and their perseverance paid off with the Richmond winger touching down. From another England scrum England outwitted Wales by not powering forward to the line but popping the ball out to Margaret Alphonsi who then offloaded to Matthews on the wing. McLean, however, was unable to make the conversion with the gusty wind going against England.

The visitors were then made to wait for any more spoils with neither side able to capitalise. The sodden ground made the going heavy while looking after the ball proved slippery in the wet conditions.

Wales too were strong in defence but they were penalised one too many times come the end of the first half when referee Mark Patton punished the home side with an England penalty try. Catherine Spencer had been close to taking the points but following the referee’s intervention it was McLean who stroked over the penalty try, handing England a 12-0 lead at half time.

With the wind now behind them, England came out  in much more impressive style, putting try number three on the board after just eight minutes.

England had worked hard to get the ball back after being turned over in Wales’ 22. Scrum half La Toya Mason then got the ball out to fly half McLean and then Kim Oliver, who drew in Wales’ defence. A quick offload to Waterman then saw the full back free to score on the right wing. With McLean adding the conversion England found themselves in a more comfortable 19-0 lead, which is where they stayed until the final whistle.

Wales, however, did their best to change that with a late comeback which saw them within touching distance of the try line, but each time their efforts were thwarted by a wall of England shirts.

England

15            Danielle            Waterman (Worcester), 14            Katherine             Merchant (Worcester), 13        Emily            Scarratt            (Lichfield), 12            Kimberley      Oliver            (Bristol), 11 Fran Matthews            (Richmond), 10            Katy             McLean            (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks) (C), 9  La Toya    Mason            (Wasps), 1            Rochelle         Clark (Worcester), 2          Amy            Garnett            (Saracens), 3            Sophie            Hemming (Bristol), 4            Joanna            McGilchrist            (Wasps), 5            Rebecca        Essex (Richmond), 6          Sarah            Hunter            (Lichfield), 7            Margaret            Alphonsi (Saracens), 8            Catherine             Spencer            (Bristol). Replacements: 16 Emma  Croker            (Richmond), 17            Rosemarie Crowley                      (Lichfield), 18 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond), 19            Heather         Fisher(Worcester), 20            Georgina Rozario (Lichfield), 21            Rachael            Burford            (Richmond), 22            Georgina Roberts (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)

Tries: Matthews, McLean, Waterman

Conversions: McLean (2)

Replacements: Burnfield for Essex (HT), Burford for Oliver, Crowley for Hemming, Fisher for Hunter (all 52), Roberts for Waterman, Croker for Garnett (all 61)

Wales

15        Aimee Young (Bath Ladies), 14 Caryl James (Cardiff Quins), 13 Adi Taviner (Neath Athletic), 12            Elen Evans (Dolgellau), 11            Charlie Murray (Neath Athletic), 10 Elinor Snowsill (Cardiff Quins), 9            Amy Day (Cross Keys), 1 Caryl Thomas (Bath Ladies), 2 Rhian Bowden (Cross Keys), 3 Catrin Edwards (Cardiff Quins), 4 Ashley Rowlands (Wasps), 5 Shona Powell Hughes (Neath Athletic), 6 Lisa Newton (UWIC),  8 Jamie Kift (Cross Keys), 7 Sioned Harries (UWIC). Replacements: 16 Lowri Harries (Neath Athletic), 17 Jenny Davies (Waterloo), 18 Vicky Owens (UWIC), 19 Sian Williams (Bath Ladies), 20 Laura Prosser (Cardiff Quins), 21 Awen Thomas (Cross Keys), 22 Kerin Lake (Neath Athletic)

Referee:Mark Patton

Assistant Referees:Phil Connett & Kelvin Shorte

England’s RBS 6 Nations Fixtures

Wales v England            Feb 6             Cross Keys RFC                              WON 0-19

England v Italy      Feb 12        Esher RFC                            KO 430pm

*England v France             Feb 27            Worcester RFC                    KO 105pm

** England v Scotland            March 13            Twickenham Stadium            KO 515pm

Ireland v England            March 18            Ashbourne RFC                   KO 730pm

* Live on Sky Sports

**Free entry to Twickenham Stadium after men’s Calcutta Cup clash

McLean keen to put World Cup defeat behind them

Posted on Feb 1, 2011 in Rugby News

England Women’s new skipper Katy McLean says Sunday’s RBS 6 Nations opener against Wales is a fresh start for the Rugby World Cup finalists and she’s adamant England will wipe the slate clean in style.

McLean, who will lead England at Cross Keys RFC, kick off 230pm, was part of the England team that fell at the final hurdle in last year’s Rugby World Cup, losing 13-10 to New Zealand. She admits that defeat is still raw but England are ready to move on.

“The world cup was a massive disappointment but we have had time to work out what went wrong and how to move forward,” said the Sunderland based fly-half, who takes over the captaincy armband from Catherine Spencer this season.

“We absolutely cannot dwell on the past. The Six Nations is upon us and we must set down a marker on Sunday. Playing Wales is always tough, but playing Wales in Wales is even tougher. We need to prepare as hard we can possibly can and concentrate fully on this new campaign.”

For England too, the stakes are high. They are the reigning grand slam champions, and they will be gunning for a record breaking sixth consecutive crown.

“This is certainly a big tournament for us but we are so excited about it,” added McLean, who will earn her 39^th cap on Sunday. “Playing Wales is quite a way to kick off the tournament, but there are some real showcase games this season as part of the Six Nations.

“We’ll be playing France at Worcester’s Sixways Stadium on February 27^th as part of ‘Super Sunday’. It will be great to headline a triple billing of international rugby, with the U20s men and women all in action on the same day. And then getting the chance to play at Twickenham again, against Scotland on March 13^th, is massive. I know from personal experience what a special occasion that is, and I just hope the crowd will get behind us again. We last played at Twickenham in 2009 against New Zealand and a record crowd of 12,000 willed us on to a first victory over the world champions in eight years so we really want a repeat of that again.”

It is all change for England, however, with a new captain in McLean, while Margaret Alphonsi has been appointed as vice captain. And McLean is delighted to have Alphonsi in support following her prolific performances during the world cup, which saw the flanker named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year as well as becoming the first woman ever to win the prestigious Rugby Union Writers’ Club Pat Marshall award.

McLean added: “I am very lucky that we have so many natural leaders in our squad, and Maggie is definitely one of them. She will make a great vice captain and I am delighted to have her by my side.”

England have been forced to make one further change this week to their starting 22 to face Wales following the withdrawal of Wasps prop Claire Purdy through injury. Lichfield’s Rosemarie Crowley, who also featured in the world cup, replaces her on the bench.

England

15        Danielle         Waterman     Worcester

14        Katherine      Merchant       Worcester

13        Emily  Scarratt          Lichfield

12        Kimberley      Oliver  Bristol

11        Fran Matthews         Richmond

10        Katy    McLean          Darlington Mowden Park Sharks (C)

9          La Toya          Mason            Wasps

1          Rochelle        Clark   Worcester

2          Amy    Garnett           Saracens

3          Sophie           Hemming      Bristol

4          Joanna          McGilchrist    Wasps

5          Rebecca        EssexRichmond

6          SarahHunter            Lichfield

7          Margaret        Alphonsi        Saracens

8          Catherine      Spencer         Bristol

Replacements:                               

16        Emma            Croker            Richmond

17        Rosemarie Crowley             Lichfield

18        Rowena         Burnfield       Richmond

19        Heather          FisherWorcester

20        Georgina       Rozario          Lichfield

21        Rachael         Burford           Richmond

22        Georgina       Roberts          Darlington Mowden Park Sharks

England’s RBS 6 Nations Fixtures

Wales v England     Feb 6              Cross Keys RFC                  KO 230pm

England v Italy         Feb 12            Esher RFC                            KO 430pm

*England v France Feb 27            Worcester RFC                     KO 105pm

** England v Scotland         March 13       Twickenham Stadium         KO 515pm

Ireland v England    March 18       Ashbourne RFC                  KO 730pm

* Live on Sky Sports

**Free entry to Twickenham Stadium after men’s Calcutta Cup clash