Teams arrive for Women’s Rugby World Cup

England captain Catherine Spencer

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Teams from across the world converged on Guildford, England, as the preparations for the Women’s Rugby World Cup got under way. The 12 captains were whisked away for a media call at City Hall, London, with Tower Bridge as the backdrop.

Team captains gather for a photocall

The teams are basing themselves at the Surrey Sports Park just on the outskirts of Guildford for the tournament, with the group stages being held there. The tournament moves to the Twickenham Stoop, home of the Harlequins, for the semi-finals and final.

The South Africans get the happiest team award

There was some good-natured banter as the teams came across each other for the first time. The Welsh team (wearing green, so we all thought they were Irish) decided to take the short walk from their accommodation at the University of Surrey to the Sports Centre en-masse, and were clearly sizing up the Springboks who seem intent on enjoying every minute of their stay. The Kazakhstan ladies were happy to chill out and look cool, whilst the New Zealand Black Ferns looked like a team who weren’t to be messed with.

Maggie Alphonsie and England Captain Catherine Spencer

The England team are led by Catherine Spencer who captains the team again after a fantastic Six Nations campaign. England are looking pretty good, and are eager for revenge after losing to New Zealand in the 2006 final in Canada. Street commented that his selection “was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make” as he had to reduce his squad size from 30 in the Six Nations down to 26. He’ll put the squad to the test on Friday the 20th of August when England take on Ireland in their first game in Pool B.

We’ll be covering the progress of the finals over the next couple of weeks. For the schedule and teams, check the IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup site.

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