Archive August 29, 2025

England vs. Samoa in the Women’s Rugby World Cup Pool A

Date: Saturday, August 30th, 2018 Kick-off: 17:00 BST

Mitchell argued that 13 Test matches this year would be insufficient for one team.

The New Zealander strives for seamless transition between his two squads, opposing the term “rotation.”

In the Women’s Six Nations this year, he used 34 players and won his seventh title for the first time.

In the Women’s Rugby World Cup opener, the Red Roses defeated the United States 69-7 to defeat their strongest team.

Samoa, Pool A’s most vulnerable side, are next in Northampton, where part-time players had to crowd-fund to compete.

Mitchell has the perfect opportunity to hand 13 different players their first tournament games this year.

However, the standards are constant despite the squad changes and Mitchell’s team’s goal of reaching the quarter-finals.

Marlie Packer, the former captain, will be leading those standards after Zoe Aldcroft, the captain, was ruled out of the rest of the pool due to a knee injury sustained against the US.

That is a prime illustration of Mitchell’s commitment to building depth.

According to Mitchell, “Aldcroft will be prepared for the quarter-finals once we earn the right,” according to Rugby Union Weekly on BBC.

“We are all very quiet [about Aldcroft’s injury].” You have to control what is thrown at you in tournament rugby. It’s called adversity, in some circles.

You just need to be prepared, they say.

13 of Saturday’s XV kicked off the 97-7 thrashing of Spain at the beginning of August, demonstrating both Mitchell’s teams’ ruthlessness and commitment to staying in the team.

Helena Rowland, the winger who scored a hat-trick of tries for Spain against the wing, starts at fly-half on Saturday after missing the first World Cup game with an ankle injury.

The 25-year-old led the Red Roses to a 38-5 victory in the opening game of this year’s Six Nations when the player last played at fly-half for Italy.

Specialists Zoe Harrison and Holly Aitchison have been playing the fly-half jersey, but Rowland has been assigned at 10 to help with Harrison’s workload because Aitchison is unable to recover from an ankle injury that has kept her out of action this month.

Harrison needs to be protected for the bigger challenges that lie ahead because she is back to her instrumental best, which helped England reach the World Cup final in 2022.

The Loughborough Lightning back’s incisive running style makes Rowland’s Samoa match suitably.

Helena is aware of her group’s versatility. She is very highly valued, Mitchel said.

She appears to be the team’s 23rd member sort of first. It’s good to get Helena moving because Zoe [Harrison] has done a lot since the warm-up games.

England has never lost a pool game while Samoa have not won a World Cup game since 2006.

The top-ranked team in the world is anticipated to win big, but how big will they go?

England won the previous World Cup game 84-19 to defeat Fiji, which was their highest point total in that match.

The Red Roses also recorded their most tries in a World Cup game (154) with that victory.

After recovering from a hamstring injury, Claudia Moloney-MacDonald will take over from Abby Dow in the World Cup against Samoa. She scored four of those tries on her World Cup debut in 2022.

Jess Breach, the fifth England player to score 50 international tries, needs one more score on the other wing.

Moloney-MacDonald underlined the media’s awe-inspiring victory.

She said, “You guys might expect us to win with all of our hearts,” she said. I’m not sure if we expect the same from ourselves.

In their history, England only played Samoa twice, who are the second-lowest-ranked team in the tournament after Brazil, scoring 18 tries and allowing no points in big wins in 2005 and 2014.

According to Moloney-MacDonald, “We anticipate Samoa to be incredibly physical.” One of my favorite games ever was the opening game of the World Cup against Fiji.

You don’t know a lot about a team because it was so exciting to play it.

“Most of us have never played them,” said the actor. They will face difficulties and “keep the ball alive”

England’s record-setting 2010 victory over Kazakhstan makes it a reasonable goal, which could also be a realistic goal.

However, Mitchell’s potential records on Saturday will only add to his squad’s success as a result.

Campbell, Carson, Muir, Talling, Kabeya, Hunt, Harrison, and Kildunne are the replacements.

Wright-Akeli, Lasini, Pouri-Lane, Makisi, Fiafia, Vatau, Afuie, Aiolupotea, Nonutunu, Aiono, C Onesemo-Tuilaepa, D Onesemo-Tuilaepa, Atonio, Pauaraisa, Foaese, etc.

Clara Munarini (Italy) and Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wales) serve as assistant referees.

After defeating Mark Allen of Northern Ireland in the semi-finals, Gary Wilson of England will face defending champion Xiao Guodong of China in the final.

Wilson, who is 18th in the world, won five frames in a row to advance, going 2-1 up against Allen, who is 11th overall.

In the other semi-final, China’s world number 14 Xiao defeated Mark Williams 6-3 to reach the final.

After the first four frames had been shared, Xiao, who is from Chongqing, which borders Wuhan’s Hubei Province, moved on with a break of 75.

Wales’ fifth-ranked Williams leveled at 3-3, but Xiao won the next two frames before going from 58-0 down with a break of 68 to win the match.

Playing “legends” like Williams was Xiao said it was an “honor.”

He told the World Snooker Tour website, “Winning him this time is a big boost to my confidence,” referring to Mark’s defeat last year in the Champion of Champions final.

Ireland vs. Spain: Pool C of the Women’s Rugby World Cup

Date: Sunday, August 31; Kick-off: 12:00 BST

Linda Djougang, the front row for Ireland, claims that her persistence has helped her become almost “ever-present” and captained her country in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup game against Spain.

Since making her international debut against England in 2019, the Cameroonian prop has only played one game for Ireland.

It elicits incredible feelings. This week has been the first time I really thought about it. Never did I even consider this when I first started playing rugby. I had no idea I’d make this achievement, Djougang said.

I make an effort to do my best every game. It means a lot to me to let the other squad members know they can also join them.

The 29-year-old claims that she never takes selection into her own hands.

You never want to feel at ease, they say. You want to present your hand for selection during each training session. Rugby is a game that is notoriously unpredictable, as we all know.

“I train like I’m on the bench, and I want to start for the first team.” This achievement demonstrates my abilities and encourages me to strive for more.

I’ll celebrate with the girls because their journey began with them and this milestone deserves to be celebrated with them. “It’s nice to be reminded of the accomplishment.

Before Sunday’s game in Northampton, Ireland head coach Scott Bemand praised Djougang’s impact and her influence on the squad.

Linda is a remarkable player and person. She has such a high level of resilience and robustness that she can play both scrum and scrum.

It’s an incredible feat of perseverance and improvement. She is at the center of our journey, our current state, and our current direction.