Cover Stories
England Women Grand Slam Champions
Julia Hutton
England Women clinched a record breaking fifth successive RBS 6 Nations title and a Grand Slam when they nudged a tense and hard fought 11-10 victory over France in Rennes last month. In front a packed crowd, who rallied Les Bleus on in vociferous style, England’s sole try came courtesy of Richmond scrum half Amy Turner. Darlington Mowden Park Sharks fly half Katy McLean added two penalties, while France’s points came from the boot of their fly half Aurelie Bailon and try scorer Celine Allainmat.
England Head Coach Gary Street, whose side conceded just 15 points throughout the championship campaign, said: “Even though this was a tight game, the victory was never in doubt in my mind. We knew France would throw everything they had at us and they made us work very hard for this win. But we showed great character and mental strength to turn this around.” With the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010 (WRWC) just five months away, England’s latest scalp sets up the Red Roses perfectly for rugby’s ultimate tournament which will be held on home soil this summer. Street added: “This is great world cup preparation for us. We need tough games and France gave us exactly that. Now it’s back to work as we look ahead to the world cup which we just can’t wait for.” You can watch England in action at the WRWC at the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford and the Twickenham Stoop from August 20th to September 5th.
Tickets are now on sale from Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.co.uk or on 0844 844 2010.
England’s RBS 6 Nations Results:
England v Wales 31-0,
v Italy 41-0,
v Ireland 22-5,
v Scotland 51-0
v France 11-10
Holy record breakers This is a job for Superman!
Jessica Chambers
England Sevens stars James Rodwell and Don Barrell ready to fly at the Emirates Airline London Sevens
THE Emirates Airline London Sevens (May 22&23) is the biggest party in town. To make its impact even more massive it’s now aiming to be a Guinness World Record breaker. Why not join in the fun as The Home of England Rugby attempts to break the record for the ‘Largest Gathering of Superheroes’ on Sunday May 23?
Last year the action-packed weekend attracted over 60,000 fans with a carnival atmosphere and many sporting their best fancy dress. This year promises a stunning Superhero fancy dress theme. So, whether you’re Batman, Wonder Woman or Superman get your kit on and join in the fun. The current record stands at just 1,016 and with over 30,000 tickets already sold for this year’s event all you need to do is turn up as your favourite hero to make the 2010 Emirates Airline London Sevens one to remember.
Guidelines for the ‘Largest Gathering of Superheroes’:
* Each person must be dressed as a recognised Superhero.
* A recognised Superhero is one that has been used in a published book, comic, television programme or film.
* Each person’s costume must be instantly recognisable as the Superhero they are portraying
* All participants must be in position simultaneously and remain so for a minimum for 10 minutes.
* A loud start and finish signal recognised by all participants must be used.
* All participants must wear the costume for the entirety of the attempt.
Watch England Sevens in action on May 22 & 23 at the Emirates Airline London Sevens, their only home tournament of the IRB Sevens World Series. Tickets are available from www.rfu.com/tickets
For behind the scenes access to your favourite sevens players join our Facebook site at www.facebook.com/londonsevens
New dates for Twickenham’s autumn
Simon Mills
England will kick off the Investec Internationals against New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on November 6, 2010. The contest for the Hillary Shield has been brought forward from December 4 following the agreement of Premier Rugby Limited and the Professional Game Board.
This year’s overall Investec International schedule is now as follows:
November 6: England v New Zealand (2.30pm)
November 13: England v Australia (2.30pm)
November 20: England v Samoa (2.30pm)
November 27: England v South Africa (2.30pm)
The MasterCard Trophy game between the Barbarians and 2007 Rugby World Cup winners South Africa will take place on Saturday, December 4 (2.30pm), a day earlier than previously scheduled. RFU Business Operations Director Paul Vaughan said: “We’re delighted that Premier Rugby Limited and the Professional Game Board have approved the change which completes a superb series of games at Twickenham Stadium this autumn. “As a consequence of this schedule change we have also been able to move the MasterCard Trophy Barbarians v South Africa match from Sunday to the Saturday on the first weekend of December. Five consecutive Saturday games all kicking off at 2.30pm will be good for our supporters, our broadcast partners and the game as a whole.”
