Roz Crowley to captain England A in European Trophy

The England Women’s A squad to compete in the European Trophy later this month has today been announced.

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 27^th to May 7^th.

England

Rowena         Burnfield       (Richmond)

Rosemarie    Crowley         (Lichfield)

Victoria           Fleetwood     (Lichfield)

NicolaHoole(Bristol)

Natasha         Hunt   (Lichfield)

SarahHunter            (Lichfield)

Natasha         Jones(Lichfield)

Ceri     Large  (Worcester)

Jane   Leonard         (Wasps)

Monica           Lewinska       (Bristol)

Stacey            Maguire         (Lichfield)

Charlotte        Male   (Bristol)

Francesca     Matthews       (Richmond)

SarahMcKenna       (Old Albanians)

Sophie           Nicholas        (Lichfield)

IsobelNoel Smith    (Bristol)

Kimberley      Oliver  (Bristol)

MarliePacker            (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 30^th - Italy v England

Monday May 2^nd – Netherlands v England

Wednesday May 4^th – Russia v England

Saturday May 7^th – Finals Day