50 days and counting for England Women – The 7s Rugby World Cup

from Rugby Football Union:

It’s just 50 days until the 2009 Rugby World Cup 7s kicks-off and England Women start their campaign to be crowned the inaugural Women’s 7 World Cup Champions.

England, coached by England 7s greats Simon Amor and Mike Friday, head into the prestigious tournament in Dubai, from March 5th-7th, ranked number one after winning the European 7s, Home Nations Cup, London Emirates Airline 7s and the Dubai 7s.

England’s squad for the Rugby World Cup is still to be announced, but Wasps player Sue Day has captained England throughout their 7s journey so far, and she’s hoping England will be contesting that final, come March 7th.

“The prospect of being involved in the first ever Women’s 7s World Cup is incredibly exciting,” said Day, who has been capped for England 59 times and has contested three Rugby World Cups.

“Everybody taking part, what ever team they are playing for, will be making their own little bit of history, but obviously our aim is to be remembered for more than just taking part. For me there’s no point entering a tournament like a World Cup unless you have the intention of trying to win it, and it’s that opportunity that I’m most excited about.”

With 16 teams competing for Rugby World Cup glory, including France, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, USA and Canada, England can take nothing for granted, especially because of the fast and furious nature of 7s rugby.

Day added: “I’ve heard that we’re ranked number 1, but to be honest seedings are probably not as good a guide to the women’s game as they are in the men’s. We don’t play each other as often, and indeed there will be teams at the World Cup who we have never played before.

“That said, we have been given the number one seeding on the back of some wins at recent tournaments, and of course we do take a lot of confidence from that.

“We are capable of winning, but so are a number of other teams and that’s one of the exciting things about 7s. We will just concentrate on performing to the very best of our ability and giving it everything.”

The Women’s Rugby World 7s is being run alongside the men’s 7 Rugby World Cup for the first time at the impressive Sevens complex in Dubai and Day is hoping this can only help showcase the talent on offer in women’s rugby.

She added: “It’s great that our Rugby World Cup is running alongside the men’s tournament. From the perspective of promoting the women’s game, it’s a constant challenge to find the opportunities to show people what we can do, and open people’s eyes to the skill level and excitement of the women’s game. A tournament like this however is clearly an opportunity to do that. In addition to that, just the sheer sense of occasion that comes with it being part of one big tournament is hugely exciting too.”

England will compete in their final warm-up tournament ahead of the Rugby World Cup in San Diego from February 13th-14th.

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