By Ali Donnelly
Images thanks to Michael Paler
England women’s rugby captain Katie Mclean will lead a youthful looking side against Scotland in the opening round of the 6 Nations this weekend.
Strong favourites ahead of the tournament, England are looking for an incredible seventh title in a row, but McLean insists the tag will make no difference to her side.
“There is always going to be a favourite and for us it’s important not to even think about that. I know it’s a cliché but we just need to focus on each game one by one . If you start looking ahead that’s when you slip up. Scotland is our only focus now and we need to get off to a good start there which hopefully would let us build up a bit of momentum going towards the back end of the tournament.”
McLean will skipper a side which is without all of its biggest names with coach Gary Street opting to leave out Maggie Alphonsi and other more experienced names for the first game, but such is the strength in depth in his squad, helped by a jam-packed schedule in 2011, that England still travel expected to have no trouble winning away on day one.
McLean says: “We were lucky with the sheer amount of games we got to play last year especially to get to play the likes of New Zealand a few times. It gave the coaches a chance to see a lot of new faces and I expect we’ll see more in the 6 Nations. This year is another good opportunity to get new players involved and now is the time we are really building towards the next World Cup.”
Including their 6 Nations games, England took to the field 13 times last year, an amazing feat considering their first opponents Scotland played just one test game in the same period and Ireland and Wales haven’t played at all since last year’s tournament.
“It is massive for us that we get to play so much. All you want to do is play for our country and we really appreciate how much we get to do it. It’s great to know that as recently as November and December we were all playing together and I know it must be frustrating for those sides who don’t get that chance. It does give us an edge.”
This year, while England will be strong favourites to retain their title, the question of the Grand Slam is less easy to predict, given that they will play France away from home. It was McLean’s penalty two years ago in Rennes which handed England the Grand-Slam but it was tense stuff with England relying on a late missed kick to win the game 11-10. McLean knows too well the threat France pose at home.
“They get such good crowds and there is always a brilliant atmosphere that they are a dangerous side at home. That’s what you want as players – to play in front of a lot of people and the French are always a little bit different when they play in France. Leading up to it we will want to be in a good position and we have a few games to build up to the match. We won’t be thinking about that game until it’s the next game but I guess as captain it’s my job to remind people that it’s just another game and not about the fact that we are in France. It’s a different kind of atmosphere there and it’s a great experience and one all of us should look forward to playing in.”
To Scotland first though and McLean is diplomacy personified when asked about the threat her side face on the opening day. (England beat the Scots 89-0 last year.)
“Look it’s the opening game so it’s a big occasion for both sides. We all love playing in the 6 Nations, you get to play a lot of games in a short period of time so getting off to a good start is really important. Scotland will want to make a statement, it’s England and they are at home so none of us will be taking anything for granted.”
This year England will get to play at Twickenham again – they host Wales there after the men ‘s international and the home skipper is relishing another big test there.
“We get really good crowds when we are there and playing the same day as the men is always a bit special. One of my biggest worries as a kicker is the wind but it’s very still there. I will usually get a chance to get in a practice there beforehand and it’s a great surface to kick on.”
