Wasps hooker Geraldine Thomas has been called up to the England Women’s Elite Playing Squad (EPS) for the 2011/2012 season.
Thomas replaces Richmond hooker Emma Croker who has withdrawn from the squad this season for personal reasons.
Thomas has previously played England Under 20s rugby and will now join the EPS squad who will contest a three test series against New Zealand this autumn as well as the RBS 6 Nations.
The England Women’s Squad to compete in Rugby Rocks at the Richmond Athletic Ground on June 4th has been announced.
England, who are competing in their first tournament as part of a new development programme, will play Puma, Pink Baa Baas, Saracens and Wooden Spoons in the opening rounds. Other teams taking part include Sweden, English Premiership champions Richmond, as well as Irish and Welsh internationals in representative teams.
Barry Maddocks will coach the England 7s team with former England scrumhalf Susie Appleby as assistant coach.
Maddocks has named Richmond’s Claire Allan in the 12-woman squad. Rugby Rocks will mark Allan’s return to international action after missing last year’s Rugby World Cup with an ACL injury. Other experienced players include Michaela Staniford, who competed in the Rugby World Cup 7s in 2009, and Sonia Green, who has previously captained the England 7s team.
Maddocks said: “This is a really exciting period for the England 7s team. We had a lot of interest in the Open Trial process with over 100 players registering. We had a real mix of players attending, from experienced players to those new to the sport. It was an invaluable experience and we are very happy with the squad we have selected.
“Now we are at the start of a new development process, so this really is a blank canvas. We have three experienced 7s players in this squad, in Claire Allan, Michaela Staniford and Sonia Green, and we are hoping their experience will rub off on the less experienced players and build their confidence.
“Expectations for this tournament really is to use it to develop our players; it is not about winning. This is the start point for us, which is similar to what the England men did some years back, and we will build towards the future giving these players some invaluable experiences.”
England 7s Rugby Rocks Squad
Claire Allan (Richmond)
Natasha Brennan (Wasps)
Jenny Brightmore (Worcester)
Sonia Green(Saracens)
Natasha Hunt (Lichfield)
Charlotte Keane (Worcester/Hartpury College)
Ruth Laybourn (Leo Ladies)
Sophie Nicholas (Lichfield)
Michaela Staniford (Wasps)
Lydia Thompson (Worcester)
Sally Tuson (Bristol)
Charlotte Wild (Lichfield)
England Playing Schedule in Rugby Rocks
England vs. Puma (KO 10.10)
Pink Baa Baas vs. England (11.30)
Saracens vs. England (13.30)
Wooden Spoons vs. England (14.10)
Finals / Ranking game (16.50)
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 11th 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
A hugely experienced former Scotland internationalist and currently head coach at Richmond RFC, Karen takes charge of the side just a week prior to its first Six Nations fixture against France (Friday 4 February, Viry-Châtillon, kick-off 8pm, local).
Karen won 85 caps for Scotland, 52 as captain, and was a member of the first women’s national team to play at Murrayfield Stadium. Her international career began in 1996, against Wales, and continued until 2006, when she moved into a full-time sports coaching programme. She was appointed to the coaching team at Richmond and has been head coach for five years; Richmond is the largest women’s club in existence, with three women’s senior sides competing each week in the top three tiers of RFUW competition. She has also coached Surrey under-20 girls and in the Celtic League, which involved Scottish, Welsh, Irish and exile players, and was involved in coaching Scotland Women in the run-up to their recent friendly in Spain.
Of her appointment to the national team, Karen said: “I’m incredibly honoured, delighted, and very excited about the future. There’s a really good basis to the squad and I’ve seen lots of good things – if we get the foundations right now, that bodes well for the future.”
Aside from her rugby commitments, Karen works full time for the Olympic Police co-ordination team, delivering national security in the run up to and during the 2012 Olympic Games.
Scottish Rugby’s Head of Community Rugby, Colin Thomson, said: "The appointment of a high profile women’s international player who has made the transition from club to representative and now to full international level coaching is a significant step in the development of the women’s game. I’m sure that the squad will benefit from Karen’s years of experience."
In the build-up to their Six Nations championship, Scotland Women take on the Army in a training game this weekend (Saturday 29 January) at Percy Park RFC, Tynemouth with a 2pm kick-off.
Meanwhile, the Scotland Women under-20 team has appointed Jules Murciano as head coach, assisted by Donna Kennedy and Claire Cruikshank. Jules has a wealth of coaching experience ranging from club to performance coaching within the women’s programme while Donna and Claire are former Scotland internationalists, Donna having retired as Scotland’s most capped rugby player with a women’s world record 115 caps.
England players’ reaction to their 82-0 pool game win over Kazakhstan in the WRWC
England and Worcester back Danielle Waterman said:“I’m really pleased with the game. I came off the bench, but the girls started well and we all carried that on. I have to give all credit to Kazakhstan. They hit us hard, they disrupted our ball and they played to the end. It was a great result for England and now I’m just looking forward to the next pool game against USA.
“Playing at scrum half brought back a few memories from way back when, when I started playing rugby! It was good fun to play there this evening and it was a great experience with LaToya at ten and Amy Turner at 12. Having three nines on the pitch was awesome!”
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