Red Roses jostle for position as Lionesses hand on baton
After training this week, the Red Roses have been practising a new three-part drill: a hop, a step and a strike.Chloe Kelly's distinctive penalty technique doesn't work as well for everyone though."Some are better at it than others," smiles head coach John Mitchell at his players' attempts to copy the Euros-winning England footballer."The girls love mimicking those sorts of things. We'll probably have to put a stop on it as we don't want to do any hamstrings!"England face Spain on Saturday, just as Kelly and her team-mates did in last weekend's final.The pressure will be some way short of shootout stress though.Spain are ranked 13th in the world. They have lost their past three games - one Test against South Africa and two against Japan. Their last meeting with England was a 10-try 56-5 thrashing in the 2017 Rugby World Cup pool stages.A clutch of Las Leonas - Ealing Trailfinders prop Cristina Blanco, Sale Sharks back row Alba Capell and Harlequins back Claudia Pena - compete in the PWR. Fly-half Amalia Argudo is a key part of the Toulouse side that reached the Elite 1 final in France earlier this year.But collectively, they will lack the quality and depth to offer significant resistance to the queenpins of the women's game.Instead the competition for the Red Roses will mainly be internal.The 2024-25 English domestic season was condensed, with the final taking place three months earlier than usual, to maximise the Red Roses' preparation for the forthcoming Rugby World Cup.As such, this warm-up against Spain marks two months since their first training camp. During that time they have been to the heat of Treviso and plumbed the depths of their stamina to find an extra edge.Over the rest of the world, but also over each other.The meeting with Spain gives players on the fringe of the 32-strong squad a chance to push towards the centre of Mitchell's planning.Maddie Feaunati is in a potential tussle with Alex Matthews for the first-choice number eight shirt, while Marlie Packer and Abi Burton - at opposite ends of their Test careers - will be directly compared to Sadia Kabeya, who is poised on the bench.
Zoe Harrison, in competition with Holly Aitchison, has a chance to cement her spot at 10. Lucy Packer, England's starting nine in their World Cup final defeat by New Zealand three years ago, is trying to unseat Natasha Hunt.In the front-row, there is Springbok-style strength in depth, with hooker May Campbell, joint-top try scorer in the PWR last season, Hannah Botterman and Maud Muir as the back-up to Kelsey Clifford, Lark Atkin-Davies and Sarah Bern.There is intrigue on the wing as Jess Breach attempts to edge ahead of Claudia Moloney-McDonald and Helena Rowland, a sublimely skilled footballer still searching for a secure backline spot, and try her hand out wide.Centre Jade Shekells will attempt to barge into the midfield equation as she wins her third cap. Emma Sing has been excellent for Gloucester-Hartpury, but has the hardest task of all, keeping World Player of the Year Ellie Kildunne's full-back spot warm.And in the background, for all of them, is the clock.The canapes and tickertape have barely been cleared away from football's celebrations, but a baton has been passed. England will play France next weekend in their final warm-up and then the rehearsals are over.A Rugby World Cup opener against the United States awaits on 22 August.Marlie Packer, who captains the side against Spain, is setting her sights high.She has won the World Cup before.Back in 2014, England's women footballers, preparing for a qualifier against Wales, came off the training pitch and sat down to cheer Packer and her team-mates - all amateurs - to a final win over Canada.This time though a Red Roses victory, on home turf, as professionals, at a sold-out Allianz Stadium, would be many magnitudes bigger."It is our turn now, let's go and do it," said Packer."Like how the footballers have inspired us, we want to inspire them and the nation."We can define the way women's rugby is looked at by the way we play and how we want to be."Spain is where England iron out the small details needed to realise that big ambition.
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