England Rugby, Women's team announced for IRB Rugby World Cup opener.

England Rugby Women’s head coach Geoff Richards announced his starting team for England’s RWC opening match against the US Eagles on 31/8/06 at Ellerslie Park in Edmonton, Canada, kick-off  1700 (local time) and 2300 (UK).

Richards said: “We’ve had fantastic preparation thus far with a three week programme in England and five days in Calgary, the latter of which allowed us to recover from jet lag and progress further with our training.   Everyone is looking forward to the first match against the USA, who are a world class outfit and who will be formidable opponents. They beat our A's convincingly earlier this year and showed that they are a fit and talented team. The USA have been World Champions before and have been in many finals so we are expecting a tough opener."

“Obviously it’s important to get off to a good start in the tournament, especially with the new competition structure making points vital for a top four finish to put yourselves in the reckoning for the semi-finals and thus in a position to win the tournament. However, I have every confidence in the 22 I have chosen. Charlotte Barras may not have played 15 for England before but she’s no stranger to the position having played at full-back for Loughborough University, Lichfield and in Super League games this season."

“I’m also looking forward to seeing Kim Shaylor back in action. She’s had enough game time now and after the training camp she’s certainly back to her best, while Katy Storie is a player who has made great gains during the off season and deserves her place on the bench. Having led England A against the US earlier this year the Eagles are a team she is very familiar with.”

Kim Shaylor 

picture from  RFU.com

England Women

1 Rochelle Clark (Henley), 2 Amy Garnett (Saracens), 3 Vanessa Gray (Wasps), 4 Jennifer Sutton (Richmond), 5 Tamara Taylor (Thirsk), 6 Georgia Stevens (Clifton), 7 Margaret Alphonsi (Saracens), 8 Catherine Spencer (Folkestone), 9 Jo Yapp (Captain) (Worcester), 10 Karen Andrew (Saracens), 11 Kim Shaylor (Worcester), 12 Kim Oliver (Clifton), 13 Sue Day (VC) (Wasps), 14 Nicola Crawford (Worcester), 15 Charlotte Barras (Lichfield).

Replacements: 16 Selena Rudge (Wasps), 17 Katy Storie (Clifton), 18 Jenny Lyne (Richmond), 19 Helen Clayton (Saracens), 20 Amy Turner (Wasps), 21 Shelley Rae (Wasps), 22 Michaela Staniford(Henley),

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