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England Captain Catherine Spencer


England Captain Catherine Spencer says her side will be looking to continue their impressive defensive efforts this Sunday when they face Ireland in the RBS 6 Nations at Esher RFC, kick off 3pm.

Spencer has so far led England to victories over Wales and Italy and the reigning champions have so found gone without conceding a single point. In fact the last time an international side crossed England's line was in November when world champions New Zealand touched down for a single try.

"Ireland have a strong team and play great attacking rugby so once again we will need to ensure that our defence is watertight," said Spencer, whose side are targeting a fifth successive Six Nations crown. "We have worked hard on our defence over the last couple of years and this work is really coming to fruition.

"The urgency in defence throughout the squad has been really impressive and we'll certainly aim to replicate these great defensive performances against Ireland on Sunday. Having said that we will want to go into the game with a positive attacking attitude as well, and with our back three of Fiona Pocock, Katherine Merchant and Michaela Staniford we have the potential to attack from anywhere."

Ireland are, however, a side who have pushed England hard over the past couple of seasons and Spencer is more that aware of the threats they'll pose.

She added: "After a week off from Six Nations action we're very much looking forward to our next game against Ireland. We've had some close games against them over the last couple of years so we are fully prepared for a tough fixture.

"Up front Ireland have a powerful pack so we will need to ensure that we are switched on in this area from the first whistle as we won't want them to gain any momentum. Sophie Hemming comes back into the starting line up at tight head and we will be looking to our very experienced front row to provide a solid platform."




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:02:25:10:33:26 by England Women Rugby.