England hungry for Black Ferns double
POPPY Cleall captains England for the first time in today’s rematch against New Zealand at Franklin’s Gardens with regular skipper Sarah Hunter on the bench.
Cleall, who played lock in England’s record win against the Black Ferns last weekend, replaces Hunter at No.8.
Cleall, 29, said: “I’m going to have to tell the girls what an honour it is because I’m not sure they quite realise how special it is to lead a team of incredible rugby players and people. I’m hugely proud.”
Head coach Simon Middleton said: “With less than a year to go until the World Cup, it’s important our leadership group is broad.
“We know what the side looks like when Sarah captains it against New Zealand. We wanted to know what it looked like with another captain. Poppy was perfectly placed to do that.”
Scrum-half Leanne Infante starts in place of Claudia MacDonald and will be vice-captain at Franklin’s Gardens.
Zoe Harrison retains the 10 shirt after a player of the match performance Middleton described as “sensational” in Exeter.
Helena Rowland, usually a fly-half for England, starts at inside centre with Lagi Tuima on the bench, with Holly Aitchison maintaining her place at 13 in the absence of injured star Emily Scarratt.
Zoe Aldcroft, a flanker last week, starts in the second row. She believes England’s win last Sunday has punctured the world champions’ aura.
“It has made us think we can actually beat the Black Ferns,” said the 24-yearold. “The thought of them can get into your head a bit before you even play them so psychologically it has helped.”
New Zealand had not played a Test since 2019 because of the Covid pandemic and Aldcroft is braced for a New Zealand resurgence.
“We didn’t celebrate too much because we knew we have an even bigger game coming up to back it up,” said Aldcroft.
“If we don’t perform this week, last week kind of means nothing. We know New Zealand are going to be coming out fighting. Hopefully we can get the second win and finish the job. We can’t be complacent at all.”
Team-mate Ellie Kildunne dismissed any suggestion the Black Ferns had failed to fire in their defeat at Sandy Park, instead pointing to England’s gameplan and ruthless finishing as being the match’s decisive factors. “We took our opportunities when we had them,” she said.
“It wasn’t that they played bad – we did our homework well and executed when we needed to.”
Middleton added: “We’ve used the last two years very wisely and we’ve worked hard. Last Sunday was the product of a lot of commitment.”