December 6th, 2007



Former England Women’s captain wins top award



Former England Women’s captain Sue Day was last night (Wednesday) crowned the Technogym City Sportsperson of the Year.





Day, who announced her retirement from international rugby in October, beat off fierce competition from hockey player Nick Brothers, who represented England in both the Champions Challenge and European Cup in 2007, jockey Sam Waley who won four races against professional jockeys in 2007, runner Andrew Weir who became the first British runner over 40 years old to finish the Chicago Marathon and athlete Phil Wicks who was the fastest individual competitor in the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay.



Day last season led England to a second successive RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam title. She has also competed in three IRB Rugby World Cups, most recently in 2006 when England finished second to World Champions New Zealand.



Day said: “It's obviously a great honour to be given this award and I feel amazingly fortunate to have had the opportunities and experiences that I've had playing rugby for England over the years. I like to think that something like this represents a little bit of recognition for our sport and I hope that the talented players and team now developing within England women's rugby will get the recognition that they deserve over the next few years. I shall be enjoying my retirement and watching them from the comfort of the stands!"



Day, who plays rugby for Wasps, is a corporate finance manager for KPMG.

England A 34 USA Eagles 17

England A Women kicked-off their international season in impressive form with a six try 34-17 victory against the USA on Wednesday at London Irish ARFC, Sunbury.

The A team, coached by Mike Barnett, Gavin Williams and Andy Paton, set off at a furious pace running in five tries in the first-half including a brace for Worcester’s Samantha Dale, before finishing off proceedings in the second-half with one further touchdown.

Head Coach Barnett, taking charge of his first international for England A, said: “This is a good start and the first-half was particularly encouraging. We have got to give the US credit as they fought back bravely after going down 29-0 in the first-half.

“This is just the start of the season and we have still got a lot to learn. The squad need to learn to maintain a high level of performance throughout, though I am particularly pleased that the youngsters showed real promise in their first outing while the more experienced players led from the front and Karen Jones had a good game leading the team.”

Worcester prop Dale got the ball rolling for England after just four minutes when she touched down in the left corner. A penalty handed England the chance to catch and drive from a line-out, the ball was then spun out and drove forward for Dale to muscle her way over the line.

Wasps No. 8 Heidi Shelburg helped England gain a 10-0 advantage after just seven minutes in a similar move, but this time the forward picked up and drove her way over the line. Club and country teammate Shelly Rae successfully struck the conversion.

After nine minutes it was then time for England’s backs to put some points on the board and this time it came courtesy of Saracens full-back Vicky Massarella.

In a spectacular try scoring manoeuvre Wasps prop Claire Purdy drove her way through the USA defence before clearing the ball to the backs. Wasps centre Michaela Staniford then darted her way up-field, drawing in the US fullback, before off-loading to Massarella who then charged 50 metres up-field to score. Rae converted to stretch England’s lead to 19-0.

Worcester’s Gemma Sharples claimed try number four after a well worked line-out, catch and drive which then saw the ball spun out-wide with Sharples driving over the line. Dale then completed the first-half proceedings with her second touchdown on 25 minutes.


The Eagles, however, had no plans to roll over and surrender and came back at England after the restart showing passion and determination. Scrum-half Kim Magrini rewarded the US for their efforts with a 45th minute try which saw the number 9 take advantage after England lost control in a scrum. Wing Melissa Smit converted to reduce the hosts lead to 29-7.

With some fresh legs on the field and the tourists losing a player to the sin-bin England bounced back to claim their final try of the evening. This time it was the turn of substitute Charlotte Boggis.

Skipper Jones was at the heart of the move and picked-up at the back of a scrum. The forwards then cleared the ball and moved it out-wide. A clever dummy by Massarella, who couldn’t quite make the line for a second time, then set-up a waiting Boggis who touched down on 65 minutes.
The US again didn’t give up and instead they had the final word of the evening, running in two late tries thanks to Natalie Marchino and Kristen Zdanczewicz making the final score 34-17.


The USA return to action on Saturday when they take on reigning RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam champions England at Sunbury, kick-off 230pm.

England:

1 Claire Purdy (Wasps), 2 Samantha Dale (Worcester), 3 Katie Smith (Richmond), 4 Alison Stevens (Lichfield), 5 Sara Anastasi (Richmond), 6 Karen Jones (Richmond) (c), 7 Gemma Sharples (Worcester), 8 Heidi Shelburg (Wasps), 9 Harriet Slynn (Richmond), 10 Shelly Rae (Wasps), 11 Helen Price (Waterloo), 12 Tina Lee (Clifton), 13 Michaela Staniford (Wasps), 14 Katherine Merchant (Worcester), 15 Vicky Massarella (Saracens). Replacements: 16 Samantha Jamieson (Darlington Mowden Park), 17 Monica Lewinska (Clifton), 18 Natalie Binstead (Wasps), 19 Sonia Green (Saracens), 20 Sarah Guest (Worcester), 21 Charlotte Boggis (Clifton), 22 Vicki Jackson (Lichfield).

Tries: Dale (2), Shelbury, Massarella, Sharples, Boggis
Conversions: Rae (2)
Penalties:

Substitutions: Price off for Jackson (HT), Stevens off for Binstead (50), Shelburg off for Green (50), Slynn off for Guest (60), Lee off for Boggis (60), Dale off for Jamieson (66), Smith off for Lewinska..



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007:12:13:08:50:38 by Kath..

I saw the result in the paper - a good win. Well done England.

England Women run in six tries in Eagles win



England 34 USA 0



England Women opened their international season with an impressive six try defeat of the US Eagles at London Irish ARFC, Sunbury, on Saturday.



The reigning RBS 6 Nations champions battled hard against a physical and determined touring side to earn their first scalp of the season which also saw three new caps, Jane Leonard, Georgina Rozario and Gemma Sharples, blooded.



England were made to work hard for the victory and in fact the USA kept the hosts at bay until the 23rd minute when Saracens centre Rachael Burford broke the duck with a touchdown in the right corner. The score came following some sustained pressure by the home side which saw Saracens fullback Charlotte Barras tackled just short of the line. The support was there though and Burford answered England’s call with the first try of the afternoon.



The home side then had to wait until extra time of the first-half to extend their lead to 10-0, with the US holding their own. This time it was the turn of another Saracens player, centre Claire Allan, to put the points on the board. Wing Amber Penrith was at the heart of the move, making a good break to launch the scoring platform. Danielle Waterman carried the ball on into the USA’s 22 but she was brought down short of the line. England’s pack kept powering forward though and scrum-half Amy Turner had a go at the line before the ball was recycled out to the left wing for Sarah Hunter and then supporting Allan to secure the five crucial points on the board before half-time.



After the break England continued where they left off with prop Rochelle Clark scoring from a well-worked line-out catch and drive move. Fly-half Katy McLean converted to hand England the 17-0 advantage.



On 62 minutes Saracens’ Charlotte Barras was rewarded for her impressive efforts during the match with her first try of the season. The fullback, who was at the forefront of England’s attack all game, stretched England’s lead to 22-0.



As the USA began to tire the home side continued to show great determined to battle on to the end with replacement Sarah Beale scoring on the back of a pick-up from the back of the scrum. Wasps centre Michaela Staniford then rounded off proceedings for England with the sixth and final try of the afternoon on 79th minutes.



England Head Coach Gary Street said: “I am very pleased with this performance. It took us a little time to settle when we were probably trying a bit too hard in the first quarter, but after that the team showed fantastic ambition and commitment all the way through to the final whistle.



“The encouraging thing about this performance is that it was a real team effort. The new caps held their own and the experienced heads were at the forefront of the game. This is a good platform for us to now work on as we look forward to the RBS 6 Nations in February.”



England



1 Rochelle Clark (Henley), 2 Amy Garnett (Saracens), 3 Katy Storie (Blaydon), 4 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park), 5 Joanna McGilchrist (Wasps), 6 Sarah Hunter (Lichfield), 7 Jane Leonard (Wasps/Army), 8 Catherine Spencer (Worcester) (C), 9 Amy Turner (Richmond), 10 Katy McLean (Darlington Mowden Park), 11 Amber Penrith (Cardiff Quins), 12 Rachael Burford (Saracens) (VC), 13 Claire Allan (Saracens), 14 Danielle Watermen (Clifton), 15 Charlotte Barras (Saracens). Replacements: 16 Emma Layland (Richmond), 17 Sophie Hemming (Clifton), 18 Sarah Beale (Leodiensians), 19 Gemma Sharples (Worcester), 20 Georgina Rozario (Plymouth Albion), 21 Alice Richardson (Richmond), 22 Michaela Staniford (Wasps)



Tries: Burford (23), Allan (47), Clark (43), Barras (62), Beale (73), Staniford (79)

Conversions: McLean, Richardson

Penalties:

Substitutions: Richardson for McLean (54), Hemming for Storie (54), Staniford for Penrith (58), Rozario for Turner (60), Layland for Garnett, Sharples for Leonard, Spencer for Beale (all 64).



USA



1 Farrah Douglas (Chicago North Shore), 2 Lisa Butts (Berkeley Women’s all Blues), 3 Jamie Burke (Berkeley Women’s all Blues), 4 Shaina Turley (San Diego Surfers), 5 Stacey Baker (Philadelphia), 6 Liz Dilley (Washington), 7 Beckett Royce (Oregon Sports Union), 8 Blair Groefsema (Berkeley Women’s all Blues), 9 Kim Magrini (Keystone Rugby Club), 10 Jossy Tseng (Stanford University), 11 Nathalie Marchino (Berkeley Women’s all Blues), 12 Mel Kanuk (Maryland Stingers), 13 San Juanita Moreno (Oregon Sports Union), 14 Vanesha McGee (Philadelphia), 15 Ashley English (C) (Berkeley Women’s all Blues). Replacements: 16 Heather Jennings (Seattle), 17 Jaime Lange (Olde Girls of Glendale), 18 Kati McCormick (University Wisconsin), 19 Jillion Potter (Univ. of New Mexico), 20 Rose Whitmore (Berkeley Women’s all Blues), 21 Meg Crapster-Pregont (Cornell University), 22 Ashley Kmiecik (Emerald City Mudhens).



Referee: Clare Daniels

Touch judge: Deborah Innes

Touch judge: Peter Crouch

Fourth Official: Richard Kelly



Ends…