England women’s head coach Gary Street has told his side to underestimate New Zealand at their peril on Saturday despite the Black Ferns seemingly under-cooked for their Twickenham showdown.
For England the clash is all about revenge with Street including 12 of the same starting XV who went down 13-10 in last year’s World Cup final against the Kiwis.
Since that 2010 clash at the Stoop, Street’s side have bagged themselves a sixth consecutive RBS 6 Nations title as well as secure the Nations Cup crown.
While England have been busy bees since their World Cup heartache the Black Ferns have not played a game since, a fact Street quickly dismissed as favouring his side.
“New Zealand may not have played an international test match for 14 months, but that is exactly where they were at before the World Cup so you can always rely on them to pull out the performance when it matters,” said Street – whose side take to the Twickenham turf following the Barbarians’ clash with Australia earlier in the day.
“For most teams not playing regular international rugby would affect them but for New Zealand it never seems to matter.”
But despite admitting his respect for their opponents Street is adamant his side have all the ingredients to claim a famous scalp.
“On Saturday I think the key battle will be at the breakdown and it will also be important for us to control the ball but also the tempo of the game,” he added.
“We’ve had a week in camp leading up to this game and that has been invaluable preparation.
“We have been able to work on various aspects of our game and to iron out any issues from this season’s programme.
“Certainly over the past 12 months we have made a conscious effort to improve all areas of our game, especially game understanding.
“We have learned lessons from the 2010 World Cup final, where we didn’t play that well, and I am certainly expecting us to be a much stronger side this time around.”
England: 15. Danielle Waterman – Worcester 14. Katherine Merchant – Worcester 13. Emily Scarratt – Lichfield 12. Kimberley Oliver – Bristol 11. Michaela Staniford – Wasps 10. Katy McLean – Darlington Mowden Park Sharks 9. La Toya Mason – Wasps 1. Rochelle Clark – Worcester 2. Victoria Fleetwood – Lichfield 3. Sophie Hemming – Bristol 4. Rowena Burnfield – Richmond 5. Tamara Taylor – Darlington Mowden Park Sharks 6. Rebecca Essex – Richmond 7. Margaret Alphonsi – Saracens 8. Sarah Hunter – Lichfield
Replacements: 16. Amy Turner – Richmond 17. Laura Keates – Worcester 18. Marlie Packer – Bristol 19. Alexandra Matthews – Richmond 20. Natasha Hunt – Lichfield 21. Rachael Burford – Richmond 22. Kay Wilson – Richmond
