Scotland Women To Kick Off World Cup Against Canada

Scotland will kick off the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup tomorrow (Friday 20 August, 12noon) at Surrey Sports Park fielding a side well prepared to tackle their powerhouse Canadian opposition. Scotland head coach, Gary Parker, said: It will be a big game against Canada and we’re lucky that the mix of our squad includes a lot of experienced players. In selecting the team, it was a case of looking at what we felt was the combination best equipped to cope with the physical battle the Canadians pose while, at the same time, including players that can play the type of game we want to impose, too. The team, which will be captained by Lynne Reid, ranges in experience in its starting line-up from full back Nicola Halfpenny (3 caps) to flanker Donna Kennedy, who has represented her country on 110 occasions, to date. Scotland Women have met Canada on four occasions, winning the first fixture during the 1994 Rugby World Cup and registering defeat at the last meeting, a friendly at Hughenden in 2007. Parker and his team are under no illusions of the task facing them on Friday. There’s no hiding place at a World Cup. If you don’t turn up and don’t play well you’ll be punished. You can’t afford to be slow starters. Given the relative proximity of the tournament, the team are anticipating some strong vocal encouragement for their opening match, as Parker added: The fans have been great during the Six Nations, the Tests against South Africa and the training game against Ireland this year. A lot of Scotland Women rugby supporters have to take this opportunity to travel and see these games as they’re virtually on their doorstep. Listen to Gary’s thoughts on the game against Canada, below.Scotland Women v Canada, Surrey Sports Park, kick-off 12noon15 Nicola Halfpenny (Melrose) 14 Celia Hawthorn (Edinburgh University) 13 Lucy Millard (Team Northumbria) 12 Suzi Newton (Team Northumbria) 11 Veronica Fitzpatrick (Royal High Cougars) 10 Erin Kerr (London Wasps) 9 Louise Dalgliesh (Royal High Cougars) 1 Heather Lockhart (Hillhead / Jordanhill) 2 Sarah-Louise Walker (Watsonians) 3 Beth Dickens (Murrayfield Wanderers) 4 Gillian McCord (Royal High Cougars) 5 Lindsay Wheeler (Darlington Mowden Park) 6 Lynne Reid CAPTAIN (Royal High Cougars) 7 Donna Kennedy (Worcester) 8 Susie Brown (Richmond)Substitutes 16 Alison Macdonald (Royal High Cougars) 17 Rosalind Murphy (Edinburgh University) 18 Ruth Slaven (Murrayfield Wanderers) 19 Keri Holdsworth (Watsonians) 20 Sarah Gill (Murrayfield Wanderers) 21 Tanya Griffith (Royal High Cougars) 22 Stephanie Johnston (Hillhead / Jordanhill) SCOTLAND WOMEN RUGBY WORLD CUP SCHEDULE Pool C France Canada Scotland Sweden Friday 20 August Canada v Scotland (kick-off: 12noon) Tuesday 24 August France v Scotland (kick-off: 2pm) Live on SKY Sports and www.skysports.com Saturday 28 August Scotland v Sweden (kick-off: 12noon) All Pool games will be played at Surrey Sports Park, near Guildford.Rugby fans who buy tickets for the WRWC 2010 will automatically be put onto a ticketing information list for the Rugby World Cup in 2015, to be hosted in England. For more information on tickets, please go to: www.rwcwomens.com