The England Women’s A squad to compete in the European Trophy later this month has today been announced – and contains Ceri Large from Worcester Ladies and Tamara Taylor, who is part of the Warriors Community team at Sixways.
The squad of 25 includes a good mix of youth and experience, headed by skipper Rosemarie Crowley. Rowena Burnfield, Sarah Hunter, Francesca Matthews, Kim Oliver, Georgina Roberts and Georgina Rozario were all involved in this season’s emphatic championship winning RBS 6 Nations campaign, while Crowley, Michaela Staniford and Tamara Taylor were part of last season’s Rugby World Cup squad.
The tournament in Coruna, Spain, sees England A play Italy, the Netherlands and Russia in Pool B. Spain, Sweden, France and Finland will play in Pool A.
England A will kick off their European Trophy campaign on the back of a 34-7 victory over Spain last month and a 19-22 defeat to the Nomads, the women’s game’s version of the Barbarians, in February.
England A Head Coach Mike Barnett said: “We have got 12 capped players in this squad and we are going to need that experience because of the calibre of teams in this tournament. We are expecting the likes of Italy and France to be taking very strong squads, and we know that Spain will also be a tough nut to crack on home turf.
“At the same time we have got a good blend of experience and youth here so this will be a great learning curve for the players, in a tournament which will see them play four games in eight days. We are looking forward to seeing how the players react in this tough tournament, and what leaders will stand up.
“We have prepared well for the European Trophy with two good games against the Nomads and Spain as well as some training weekends. Our aim is to be competitive so we have a chance of winning, though it will all be down to whether we can perform on the day. We are certainly aiming to have the fittest and most fresh squad at the end of the tournament.”
The European Trophy runs from April 27th to May 7th.
England: Rowena Burnfield (Richmond), Rosemarie Crowley (Lichfield), Victoria Fleetwood (Lichfield), Nicola Hoole(Bristol), Natasha Hunt (Lichfield), Sarah Hunter (Lichfield), Natasha Jones(Lichfield), Ceri Large (Worcester), Jane Leonard (Wasps), Monica Lewinska (Bristol), Stacey Maguire (Lichfield), Charlotte Male (Bristol), Francesca Matthews (Richmond), Sarah McKenna (Old Albanians), Sophie Nicholas (Lichfield), Isobel Noel Smith (Bristol), Kimberley Oliver (Bristol), Marlie Packer (Bristol), Olivia Poore (Wasps), Amber Reed (Bristol), Georgina Roberts (Darlington Mowden Park), Georgina Rozario (Lichfield), Michaela Staniford (Wasps), Tamara Taylor(Darlington Mowden Park), Kay Wilson (Richmond)
Fixtures:
Saturday April 30th – Italy v England
Monday May 2nd – Netherlands v England
Wednesday May 4th – Russia v England
Saturday May 7th – Finals Day