The wait is nearly over with Women's Rugby World Cup 2010
kicking off at 12:00 local time on Friday when Canada take on
Scotland, the first of six matches on the opening day at the
impressive Surrey Sports Park in Guildford.
Three matches will be streamed live on rwcwomens.com - Wales
v Australia, New Zealand v South Africa and England v Ireland. For
fans in the UK and Ireland, the matches will be streamed live on
the website of host broadcasters Sky Sports and available on demand
on the official WRWC 2010 website 24 hours later.
With all 12 squads now announced for day one, we preview the
matches on a pool by pool basis.
POOL A
Defending champions New Zealand have received a boost ahead
of their match with South Africa with a message of support from the
All Blacks, who themselves play the Springboks in a Tri Nations
encounter in Johannesburg on Saturday.
"We want to wish the Black Ferns all the best in their
opening match against South Africa and for the rest of the
tournament," All Black captain Richie McCaw told his
counterpart Melissa Ruscoe and the rest of the Black Ferns squad.
"They have got some big games coming up, but they know
that they have the full support of the All Blacks and the rest of
the country behind them."
New Zealand are bidding for a fourth successive title, having
been the dominant force in Women's Rugby over the last 12
years, but will not be underestimating the threat posed by a South
African side who have made huge strides over the last couple of
years.
Coach Brian Evans has selected fly half Anna Richards in the
starting line up for what will be the three-time World Cup
winners' 45th cap and will be looking to her experience and
vision to unlock the South African defence in the second match on
Pitch 1.
"I am happy with how the players have been training and
with our preparations for this match," said Evans. "We
are in a competitive pool and the South Africans will challenge us,
but we will be fielding a strong team and they are looking forward
to getting the tournament off to a positive start."
South Africa come into only their second Women's Rugby
World Cup with an unbeaten record in 2010, having won series
against Scotland and Kazakhstan, and coach Denver Wannies has the
luxury of selecting his strongest side to face the Black Ferns.
"New Zealand will field a formidable team despite not
playing any matches this year," admitted Wannies. "They
have an outstanding pedigree and we are pretty much the outsiders.
It will be a classic case of the top side in the world versus the
underdog, but that does not mean that we will not be competitive.
"We are not here to complete the numbers and this team
is tremendously proud to represent South Africa. They work very
hard during the past year and are hungry to prove themselves
against the best in the Women's Game."
The opening match on Pitch 1 promises to be just as
intriguing with Australia launching their bid for a unique World
Cup double - having already won the Sevens crown last year -
against a Welsh side looking to bounce back after a disappointing
Six Nations campaign.
Wallaroos' surprise
Australia coach John Manenti has sprung a surprise by naming
Cheryl Soon and IRB Women's Personality of the Year 2009 Debby
Hodgkinson on the bench, putting his faith in Ili Batibasaga at
scrum half and moving Alex Hargreaves to cover at number 8.
"We have good competition within the group and
that's positive," said Manenti, who hands Wallaroos'
debuts to prop Caroline Vakalahi and flanker Shannon Parry.
"Ili has earned first shot at scrum half against Wales with
Cheryl coming off the bench and we'll assess it from there.
"We're very pleased with our preparation but we
don't know much about Wales. Traditionally they're a
passionate side and we're expecting them to be very
physical."
Welsh coach Jason Lewis has handed a debut to exciting
youngster Sioned Harries, who will make her first start for her
country against Australia in a rejigged back row, co-captain
Mellissa Berry moving out to the centre to partner Clare Flowers.
Elen Evans returns to the wing after several years away from
the international scene as Wales play their first Women's Rugby
World Cup match since 2002 after failing to qualify for the last
tournament in Canada four years ago.
"You've got 26 players here who are all desperate to
be on the field and who are all desperate for a place to play.
We're very lucky that with a squad of 26 every player could
genuinely be in the starting line-up," said Lewis.
"It's been a tough decision naming the side and
it's not been taken lightly. There was debate over a lot of
positions but we're confident we have selected a side which
will be competitive against Australia."
POOL B
The mouth-watering encounter in Pool B is undoubtedly the
last match of the day when hosts England face familiar rivals
Ireland. England coach Gary Street has left no stone unturned by
naming a starting XV brimming with the experience of 689 caps.
Catherine Spencer leads an England side who collected a fifth
successive Women's Six Nations title earlier this year and will
be looking to banish the disappointment of losing the last two
Women's Rugby World Cup finals to the all conquering Black
Ferns.
"The prospect of playing our first game is really
exciting. We know our preparations have been excellent and now we
are just looking forward to kicking off our World Cup
campaign," said Street.
"We know this is going to be a very competitive opener
in front of a large audience both here at Guildford and on Sky
Sports. Ireland have got some good forwards and some skilful backs.
They are also very competitive in the lineout. We are certainly
expecting this to be a tough opener, but at the same time we are
confident in our ability."
Ireland have never beaten England, but coach Philip Doyle
will be hoping that pre-match video messages from men's
national coach Declan Kidney and captain Brian O'Driscoll will
inspire the girls in green to an historic victory and dream start
to their World Cup campaign.
The Red Roses triumphed 22-5 when the two sides met in the
Six Nations, but Doyle - who only returned to the helm three months
ago after Kevin West was forced to step down for personal reasons -
sees his side strengthened by the return of Ireland's most
capped player Lynne Cantwell after spending a year in New Zealand.
Throwing down a marker
"I have been really impressed with the skills,
dedication and commitment the girls have shown over the last number
of months. The attitude of the squad has been phenomenal. Now we
just want to get onto the pitch and play," said Doyle.
The other Pool B matches sees USA, the inaugural Women's
Rugby World Cup champions back in 1991, begin their bid for a
second title against Kazakhstan on Pitch 2 at 14:15 local time.
USA coach Kathy Flores, a member of that victorious side in
Wales 19 years ago, also has plenty of experience to call upon with
prop Jamie Burke taking over the captain's armband from Ashley
English, who starts on the bench against Kazakhstan.
"That game is a tone setter, it kicks off the World Cup,
in terms of establishing ourselves as a dominant power house, so we
need to go out, score a lot of points and control the game,"
said Burke.
"We expect Kazakhstan to be strong and physical. We are
just going to have to go out and really take control from the get
go to ensure that we come out on top, and with a lot of points to
advance us out of the pool play."
Kazakhstan, for a long time the leading light in Asian
Women's Rugby, finished 11th four years ago and boast a number
of players with World Cup experience, including veteran Olga Rudoy,
the oldest player in the tournament at 47 who is playing in her
fifth WRWC.
POOL C
Scotland and Canada have the honour of kicking off the
Women's Rugby World Cup and Pool C when they meet at 12:00
local time on Pitch 2.
Scotland blend youth with experience as second row Donna
Kennedy will win her 111th cap in a line up which sees full back
Nicola Halfpenny making only her third international appearance.
Canada come into the World Cup on the back of a series win
over North American rivals USA, while Scotland will be looking to
bounce back from a 2-0 series loss to the improving South Africans
in June.
"It will be a big game against Canada and we're
lucky that the mix of our squad includes a lot of experienced
players," said Scotland coach Gary Parker. "There's
no hiding place at a World Cup. If you don't turn up and
don't play well you'll be punished. You can't afford to
be slow starters."
The experienced Canada team led by prop Leslie Cripps
features 10 players who featured at the last Women's Rugby World
Cup on home soil in 2006, including Olympic bobsleigh gold
medallist Heather Moyse on the wing.
Canada Coach John Long, who brought his squad over early for
a pre-World Cup camp in Wales, knows Scotland will be a dangerous
opponent.
Four Swedish survivors
"Scotland are renowned for the way they play. They
always wear their heart on their sleeve. They can mess game plans
like the best of the teams around the world, so you have to go in
with the mindset that they're going to do everything they can
to ensure you are on the back foot.
"We have to be prepared for that, we have to be ready
for the whirlwind that's going to come at us. It's how we
deal with that first 20 minutes that will set the tone for the
game."
The other encounter in Pool C sees Six Nations runners up
France open their World Cup campaign against Sweden - a side
returning to the biggest stage in the Women's Game for the
first time since 1998.
Sweden are led by inspirational fly half Ulrika
Andersson-Hall and were impressive qualifiers for the World Cup,
overcoming the more fancied Spain and Italy along the way.
Andersson-Hall is one of four survivors from Sweden's
last World Cup who start the match, the others being scrum half
Frida Ryberg, second row Katrina Boman and prop Jennie Ohman.
France, who have finished third at the last two World Cups,
are led by number 8 Sandra Rabier and will be hoping the 2010
tournament will be sixth time lucky for them as they look to reach
their first-ever final.
