The event, which is part of a very special decade of sport in the United Kingdom, sees the pool stages of women's rugby's biggest tournament get underway in 12 months to the day. On August 20th 2010 the top 12 international teams in the world will start their campaign to lift the illustrious Rugby World Cup trophy. Hosts England are ranked second for the tournament after losing narrowly to the reigning world champions New Zealand in the 2006 Rugby World Cup Final in Canada. England Captain Catherine Spencer, whose side are the reigning RBS 6 Nations and Nations Cup champions, said: "Any World Cup is obviously very special. I was lucky enough to be involved in the last one, but to have it on home soil really does add that extra something. And the support I think we are going to get will be brilliant." England haven't played New Zealand since that World Cup final but the two sides will have a chance to lock horns before the Rugby World Cup gets underway. The Black Ferns will play three tests against England on November 14th, 17th (England A) and 21st. The last game will be played as part of an historic Investec Challenge Double Header at Twickenham Stadium. "New Zealand are still the team to beat," added Spencer, who plays club rugby for Bristol. "Having said that, we haven't played them since the last world cup so we don't really know too much about them. However, we have got three tests against them in November and that will be a great marker for us in this year leading up to the World Cup. "New Zealand are still ranked number one but as a team we have been doing tremendously well since the last World Cup. We think we have developed as a squad, as players individually and as a team, so we are very much looking forward to seeing where we are in November and then challenging for the Rugby World Cup." Venues, kick-off times and ticket information for the 2010 IRB Women's Rugby World Cup and the autumn international series against New Zealand will be announced shortly. Check out www.rfu.com/women for the latest England women's news. |
