England Women U20s line-up named for Nations Cup Final
England Women's Head Coach Giselle Mather has named her starting line-up for Saturday's Nations Cup final against the USA, kick off 330pm at Brunel University.
England head into the final as favourites having already defeated the Americans in the pool stages of the tournament, but Mather is expecting a much tougher challenge this time around following the USA's impressive 38-20 defeat of Canada this week.
"It would be a big mistake to underestimate the USA," said Mather. "Any side that can put five tries on another international team are clearly an impressive outfit, so we are expecting nothing less than a really big game on Saturday.
"It's very exciting that we are now at the finals stage of this tournament. It has been a huge journey for everyone involved. The players have taken on a massive amount of information in a short period of time, and have really improved physically, tactically and in the skills department. Martin Hynes, our assistant coach, has also done a tremendous job with the forwards, giving them a solid platform to attack from which has certainly been instrumental in our success so far."
England are also looking to retain their Nations Cup crown, which they won in the inaugural tournament in Canada last year.
"Yes, it would be great to win the tournament for a second consecutive time. It would be the icing on the cake. This side are unbeaten so they also want to retain that record whilst at the same time there are eight players here who will be playing their last game for the Under 20s tomorrow. That'll be a big occasion for them but also massive motivation."
Also in action are Wales and Canada in the play-offs, kick off 130pm at Brunel University
