Street makes one change for England's final RBS 6 Nations game
The RBS 6 Nations title might be heading somewhere else for the first time in eight years but England women's head coach Gary Street is urging his troops to finish their campaign on a high after naming his team for their final clash with Wales on Sunday.
Having beaten Italy 34-0 last time out Street has made just one change for the trip to Aberavon, with La Toya Mason coming in at scrum-half for Georgina Guilliver.
The only other changes are on the bench with Kim Oliver recovering from injury to take her place among the replacements, alongside Rochelle Clark after the prop missed out on the Italian clash.
England had won seven straight RBS 6 Nations titles but this year Ireland have already secured the crown with one round of games remaining and could claim the Grand Slam with victory over Italy.
But Street insists there is still plenty for both his side and Sunday’s opponents to play for, with the Red Rose looking to finish second in the table and Wales needing to beat England – something they have not done since 2009 – to be assured of qualifying for next year’s World Cup.
“I was impressed with our performance against Italy last weekend so I have given the bulk of the squad the chance to start again,” said Street.
“It was a tough call to decide who should start at scrum-half but in this instance La Toya just gets the nod.
“The only other changes are on the bench and it’s great to welcome back a player of Kim’s experience. She has 42 caps and is unlucky not to have played this season because of injury.
“We have definitely got an experienced bench who will bring a lot of firepower to our game
“There’s a lot at stake for both teams on Sunday. Wales need no motivation to want to beat England but certainly qualifying for next year’s Rugby World Cup is a massive goal for them.
“For us, we have got a lot to play for. We want to finish second in this year’s championship and I think if we can do that without several of our big name, experienced players, then that’s a good result in a challenging Six Nations year.”
