Wildcats duo take on the world
Last updated 15:23, Thursday, 21 August 2008
COPELAND Wildcats duo Claire Hall and Amanda Donaldson have been named in the England squad for the Women’s RL World Cup in Australia.
Prop Donaldson, sister of ex-Wath Brow teenager James, the Bradford Bulls forward, and No 9 Hall, will join team-mates on the plane Down Under on October 30. A third Wildcat Laura Rowell narrowly missed out on selection for the 22-strong squad.
“The girls have done a lot of hard work to get to this stage, and I take my hat off to them,” said Wildcats coach Neil Gregg, the England No 2. “I think they’ll play a major part in the tournament.”
England, who will be based on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, open their campaign against Tonga on November 6, face Australia two days later and round off the group stage against Russia on November 10.
New Zealand won both previous Women’s World Cups in 2000 and 2003. And Gregg reckons the defending champs, England and the Aussie hosts all have a chance of lifting the trophy.
He added: “We’ve just got footage of the Australia State of Origin games, and I think they’ll have a decent team. But the Kiwis are the team to beat. The others are an unknown quantity.”
Eight of the England squad play for Wakefield Panthers, while Bradford Thunderbirds and Hillside Hawks each have three representatives.
Eight nations will take part, with the final played as curtain-raiser to the men’s World Cup semi-final on Saturday, November 15 at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
Nic Corrigan, RFL performance manager said: “The team is coming together well but there is still a lot of work to do before we set off for Australia.
“The players have a tough training schedule ahead of them as they prepare for the World Cup and they will be undergoing some intense fitness training.”
The squad are benefiting from an increased level of support from the RFL performance and coaching department which has provided sports physiologists, nutrition experts and coaching mentors.
