Around 15 miles down the road from their shared border, England and Wales‘ women face off tonight in their final game of preparation ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
England beat the USA on 3rd September to secure a record 24th consecutive victory, and, excluding France, no-one has got within 27 points of the Red Roses since July 2019.
Wales Women have shipped 50 points in every game they have played against England going back to 2016, but after a run of seven straight defeats from 2020 to 2021, they have experienced an impressive uptick in form since last Autumn.
Convincing wins against Japan and South Africa in the Autumn was followed by a well-deserved third-placed finish in the Six Nations.
And though they suffered a somewhat disappointing 31-3 defeat away at Canada recently – in the first match of their preparation and since the Six Nations – and are expected to lose here, it will stand them in good stead to prepare to try and reach a first World Cup semi-final since 1994.
Wales have made seven changes to the team that were beaten in Nova Scotia, with a completely new front row of Gwenllian Pyrs, Carys Phillips and Cerys Hale, and two new faces in the back row with Alisha Butchers and Alex Callender coming in, joining Sioned Harries
Gwen Crabb partners Natalia John in the second row, while Niamh Terry is selected at full-back.
Head coach Ioan Cunningham felt this was an ideal opportunity both to gauge how well the team were prepared for the tournament, and provide a final chance for players to earn selection for the squad.
He said: “Following a big two months of preparation and a tough training and match week in Canada, this is exactly the kind of challenge we need ahead of our Rugby World Cup opener against Scotland in October.
“England are the No 1 team in the world, we’ll be playing in front of a big crowd and giving some players opportunities to transfer their excellent work in training to a playing environment.
“It will be the last chance for some players to put their hands up for inclusion in the world cup squad. We are discussing the squad daily and we aren’t far off, but there are probably still four or five places up for grabs.”
England have made a dozen changes to the team that beat USA a week and a half ago, with Marlie Packer and her namesake Lucy coming in it openside and scrum-half respectively.
Marlie is joined by Alex Matthews and captain Sarah Hunter to complete the back row, while Vickii Cornborough, Lark Davies, and Sarah Bern make up an all-new front row.
There are a new pair of wingers in the form of Lydia Thompson and Sarah McKenna, while World Player of the Year Zoey Aldcroft moves from flanker to form a second row duo with Abbie Ward.
Helena Rowland comes in at inside centre, completing the dozen changes made by coach Simon Middleton, who was also expecting the game to be very useful for selection.
“We are a team that want to be remembered and to do that you have to make history and do special things,” he said.
“What is happening with this group is extraordinary, the synergy is fantastic and it is hugely competitive. It’s a very hard squad to get into, and that is why we have been successful.
“To win 25 on the trot would be fantastic, but the key for us on Wednesday is to get the performance against Wales, because we know there is a bigger picture we are working towards.”
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