England women’s rugby coach Gary Street says he has picked a squad for the future as he reflects at the 44 players chosen for the coming season.
Street was speaking for the first time since he watched his England side lose the World Cup Final and he says that his team are looking at the next four year cycle and at some of the younger names who can step up.
Street named a strong looking squad last week with nine new faces but admits that some hard choices were made.
If you ranked the best 44 in the country at the moment it wouldnt be this squad. Its a very strong squad but we looked at what potentially could be the best 44 look like in 12 months, two years, three years down the line and this is the squad that fits that bill, he said on this weeks RFU podcast.
Its a really exciting mix, with nine new players in, all who have come through the U20s programme. Some really good players havent been picked for the 44 but the players we picked are the ones we think can potentially be the best 44 in England in the future.
There were no senior squad retirements following the World Cup which he says was something of a surprise.
It was a surprise - but beforehand nobody said they were definitely going and the players have decided that losing in an England shirt isnt the best way to go out. The older players spoke to me last weekend and all they want to do is improve.
Street added that naming new faces in the squad would add freshness to the set-up ahead of the 6 Nations.
Its a new squad and it has freshened me up as well and I am looking forward to what we can do differently and better.We have learnt so much about ourselves, and the other countries, and its vital now that we keep on improving heading into the Six Nations.
All nine of the new players have different strengths and weaknesses but we will see some new type of England players and ones that can make a real difference in the future.