ROCKY CLARK
England's most capped player and World Cup winner
A Summer full of high-profile women's sport is followed by an autumn of excitement too.
With the Women's World Cup just around the corner, the international friendly scene is hotting up. Scotland faced USA, Ireland played Japan, and England face USA and Wales, and NZ play Australia.
Next weekend current world number ones, England face an ever-improving USA. Whilst the professional outfit England have been in arduous pre-season, so have the Americans. A month-long camp leading them into the World Cup friendlies sees them play Scotland and England. The American side are known for their physicality, work rate, athleticism and passion. America's previous form comes in with a huge loss in the Autumns to England, a 50-6 point loss to New Zealand, a narrow win over Australia by two points and a loss to Canada 36-5. America will be hoping to improve on their results over the last year in preparation for the 2022 World Cup.
From the American side you will recognise a lot of familiar faces from the Allianz Premiership. Sixteen of the 23 who play Scotland play for either Exeter, Saracens, Harlequins, Loughborough or Sale. Big playmakers to look out for are Alev Kelter, the Saracens superstar and current Premiership champions. Alev's arrival at Saracens filled the gap they had in the centres with a hard ball carrier and distributor. Kelter's known for her abrasive carries, physicality, relentless tackler and her sublime skill set – the Eagles centre is a force to reckon with.
Alev's teammate, powerhouse prop Hope Rogers, has taken the Premiership by storm, with her dynamic carrying, dominant tackling and scoring prowess. The 36 capped prop, who equals USA's fourth most capped player is the most experienced in the squad with new players such as Sale player Jett Hayward getting their first cap.
Rogers will bring an edge to the forwards alongside the formidable Kate Zackary from Exeter Chiefs. The ex-Sevens Olympian is a force to be reckoned with as any backrow knows, she causes problems week in week out for Premiership sides that play against her. Known for her galloping runs, exemplary skill set, smart thinking rugby brain and speed off the mark, she will be a thorn to England's side. Her ability to disrupt the ball and to pop up anywhere on the pitch means that she will need to be taken out of the game to enable the Red Roses to play the expansive game they want to against physical USA team.
A player familiar with how the Red Roses play and who has worn the England jersey 10 times, is American winger, Lotte Clapp.
Clapp from Saracens who has changed allegiances to wear the Eagles shirt, is able to play for a different country via the Union Transfer Regulation via the birth country of her mother, and who is likely to be heading to the World Cup. Having played for USA in the Pacific 4 series, she brings a raft of experience, pace, illusive running and try scoring aptitude which will unsettle the English back three, as long as she gets the ball in space of course.
USA previously lost heavily to England 89-0 in the 2021 autumn internationals where England outclassed them with a 15-try rout. USA will be looking to improve on the score to show development and put them in good stead leading into the 2022 World Cup. England's display that day had been a demonstration of a team firing on all cylinders. Like most teams, USA were blown away by England's attacking platform, speed of play and front-foot ball to give the Red Roses the momentum to put in one of their best displays against a quality side.
Knowing Rob Cain, the ex-Saracens head coach, who used to coach Poppy Cleall, Hannah Botterman and Marlie Packer to name a few, will know exactly what they will bring and will prepare a plan to try and contain them. If I was Rob, I'd look at defensive line speed, double tackling, slowing England ball down in the ruck and spending hours defending set piece drives off the lineout. That said, the best way to stop England scoring is by keeping the ball, as they are dangerous from anywhere. America will need to have worked on securing their own ball as the world class back row of England will be sniffing out any loose ball if there is an opportunity. Set piece is a necessity to have a platform for their exciting backs to play from. Whether it be crash ball from Kelter or the ball zipped out to Clapp who can score from anywhere, there are certainly threats from the Eagles side. They just need to take opportunities, be patience and bring the physicality. A battle England will relish.
What's clear is that these warmup games are a final look for the coach to see any new talent, check that systems are working and tweak any last-minute structures to sharpen the team ready for the World Cup. USA's best finish in recent years has been fourth at the 2017 World Cup, compared with winning the tournament in its first year in 1991. England go into the tournament as favourites after being world No 1 and previous winners from 2014 and 1994.
Whatever happens next weekend is sure to see some young talent get international exposure, team combinations and a view as to what is about to come in the autumn. Let the games begin…
