Back-rower Catrina Nicholas believes Wales’ ‘family spirit’ can inspire them to a second successive victory over England when the RBS Women’s Six Nations gets under way next week.
Nicholas was part of the first Welsh side that defeated England as Wales went on to claim the triple-crown but it was their fierce rivals who ended up lifting the championship.
In terms of playing resources, Wales are dwarfed by England but Nicholas maintains that will count for nothing when the teams lock horns at Esher Rugby Club next Saturday.
She said: “We have got a much smaller pool of players to select from but if you look at other teams we train just as professionally and just as hard as they do.
“We don’t have any individual superstars, it is all about playing for each other.
“We are family and we look out for each other on the field. We take all our successes and failures as a family and that is what makes us such a strong collective unit.
“It was a huge achievement to beat England last year and it is just a case of repeating that success there.”
This year’s Wales squad has been bolstered by the likes of Cardiff Harlequins hooker Becky Newton and UWIC centre Ceri Redman.
Wales have been transformed from easy pickings to Six Nations title contenders with four wins in their last two championships but Nicholas maintains they need to take the next step and lift the Six Nations crown.
She added: “We can take so much confidence from what we achieved last year. Not so long ago we were finishing bottom of the table and the performances we have put together since then have been really pleasing.
“At times it has been really frustrating not to have won the title but as a team we have put it to bed. We have got to move forward and not think what might have been.
“It does not get much tougher than England and Ireland away first up but there is confidence in this squad that we can win both games.”
