Moscow on the mind in Marbella
The second and final round of Europe’s Women’s Sevens Series takes place this weekend in Spain – but for the players of half of the teams minds will be on matters beyond Marbella. This is the last chance to claim a place at the Sevens World Cup in Moscow for players from the five European qualifiers who have yet to announce their final squads.
Published by John Birch, June 13th, 2013
4 minute read
Claire Allan will lead reigning champions England as they attempt to retain their European crown. She is one of nine changes England head coach Barry Maddocks has made from the team that won the first round in Brive, and Claire is clear that this is her and her team-mates' chance to stake a claim for a place in the squad for the World Cup: “It's a big responsibility, especially following in the footsteps of the world class Sevens players like Michaela Staniford, Katy McLean and Emily Scarratt. We have lots of new names on the team sheet and this is a great opportunity for all of us to show what we have to offer and push for a World Cup spot.
“This is our last chance to iron out the creases against some tough opposition. We’ve reached the business end of the season now and I can't wait. The squad has trained extremely hard for the RWC and in the process we have developed an unbreakable bond. Playing at the pinnacle of your sport, with your best friends, is something I am honoured to be part of.”
However, this is more than just a warm-up tournament - there is plenty to play for, especially for those teams not travelling to Moscow this will be the highpoint of their season. Portugal, Wales Ukraine and Scotland in particular will be looking to significantly improve on their performances from two weeks ago when they filled the bottom four places. Two of them will be relegated after this tournament, being replaced by Belgium and Sweden from Division “A” next season.
The draw for Marbella is based on the results from Brive, and England will be joined in Pool A by France, Ireland, Germany, Portugal and Scotland, while Pool B - headed by Russia – will include Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Wales and the Ukarine.
Play begins at 1.04pm CET (12.04 BST) – and all games will bestreamed live.
England squad:Claire Allan (Richmond) (C),Lauren Cattell (Saracens),Abigail Chamberlain (Richmond),Sonia Green (Saracens),Julie Hope (Carlisle),Natasha Hunt (Lichfield) (VC),Alexandra Matthews (Richmond),Francesca Matthews (Richmond),Emily Scott (Thurrock),Sally Tuson (Bristol),Kay Wilson (Bristol),Amy Wilson-Hardy (Bristol)
*It was also announced this week that the next Sevens World Cup will be in 2018, following the Olympics in 2016. Wales, USA and Singapore have already expressed an interest in bidding to host the tournament.
2018 was also due to be the year of the next Women's 15s World Cup, after Paris 2014. At present there has been no annoucement from the IRB about whether this will now be moved (it is difficult to see how any women's unions could prepare two different teams for two different world cups, probably within weeks of each other). The most likely date would seem to be 2017, as 2019 would also clash with the men's Rugby World Cup in Japan.