WXV 1, Round Two - teams and predictions

PREVIEW: It is the clash of the titans when WXV 1 continues this Saturday in Canada.

The Round Two action kicks off with the USA facing France before host Canada take on high-flying Ireland on Saturday.

On Sunday, World Rugby No.1 England battle the World Cup champs New Zealand.

For France and the USA, this will be their first meeting since the Women’s Rugby Super Series 2019 in San Diego, where France recorded a 53-14 victory.

Both teams are heading into the fixture at the back of defeats – France were beaten by Canada and the USA by England.

The two sides will be desperate for a victory, which will certainly add to the already enticing match-up.

Fresh from a historic win over the Black Ferns, Ireland will be oozing with confidence when they take to the field against Canada on Saturday.

The Irish have been putting in big performances, securing wins over Scotland, Australia and New Zealand in recent weeks.

However, they face a stern Test against the host, who recorded an impressive win over France in the WXV 1 opener.

The last time these two teams met on Canadian soil was eight years ago when Canada ran out convincing 48-7 winners in November 2016.

“We want to keep momentum going and be a bit better again this week,” said Ireland head coach Scott Bemand.

“Character and performance will keep this moving forward.

” A strong Canada outfit will provide a different challenge for us and we’re looking forward to testing ourselves against one of the best teams in the world.”

On Sunday, New Zealand have a chance to retain their second spot on the World Rankings when they face England.

The sides met only three weeks ago when England won 24-12 at Twickenham Stadium.

England will want to build on that winning form, however, Black Ferns would be out to make a statement following their shock defeat to Ireland in the WXV 1 opener.

“I think New Zealand are in a similar position to us, everyone brings their ‘A’ game to play them.

“They’re a big game and no one has any reason not to get up for that fixture. Ireland’s win just shows that if you’re one or two percent off your game then people can take advantage,” said England hooker Amy Cokayne.

“No matter what happened this week would have been a big week anyway, I don’t think the Black Ferns would have needed a loss to get up for it.

“At Twickenham Stadium we were disappointed we let them score. The tries they scored were quite soft, so hopefully we’ll fix those areas where they took advantage, put on a good show and implement the game that we’re trying to build on the big stage.”

Marlie Packer returns to captain the Red Roses on what will be prop Hannah Botterman’s 50th cap for England.

The Bristol Bear debuted for England against tournament hosts Canada in 2017 and earns her 25th start on Sunday.

Amy Cokayne and Maud Muir join Botterman in the front row while Zoe Aldcroft packs down with Abbie Ward in the second row.

Natasha Hunt and Holly Aitchison resume their halfback partnership with Tatyana Heard and Helena Rowland combining in the centre.

Abby Dow is back on the wing in a back three that contains Ellie Kildunne and Jess Breach – both of whom started and scored against USA last weekend.

* All the Round Two teams and predictions are below …

Saturday, October 5

USA v France
(Langley Event Centre, Langley – Kick-off: 12.30, 19.30 GMT, 15.30 USA time, 19.30 France time)

Prediction
@rugby365com: USA by seven points

Teams:

USA: TBC

France Women: 15 Chloe Jacquet, 14 Cyrielle Banet, 13 Nassira Konde, 12 Gaby Vernier, 11 Marine Ménager, 10 Lina Queyroi, 9 Pauline Bourdon-Sansus, 8 Teani Feleu , 7 Emiline Gros, 6 R Menager, 5 Madoussou Fall, 4 Manaé Feleu, 3 Assia Khalfaoui, 2 Agathe Sochat, 1 Yllana Brosseau
Replacements: 16 Elisa Riffonneau, 17 Ambre Mwayembe, 18 Rose Bernadou, 19 Axelle Berthoumieu, 20 Séraphine Okemba, 21 Francois Bordes, 22 Lina Tuy, 23 Emilie Boulard

Referee: Julianne Zussman (Canada)
Assistant Referees: Sara Cox (England) & Emma Gallagher (Canada)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

Canada v Ireland
(Langley Event Centre, Langley – Kick-off: 15.45, 22.45 GMT, 22.45 UK time)

Prediction
@rugby365com: Ireland by five points

Teams:

Canada Women: TBC

Ireland Women: 15 Stacey Flood; 14 Eimear Considine, 13 Eve Higgins, 12 Enya Breen, 11 Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe; 10 Dannah O’Brien, 9 Emily Lane; 8 Brittany Hogan, 7 Aoife Wafer, 6 Erin King, 5 Fiona Tuite, 4 Dorothy Wall, 3 Linda Djougang, 2 Clíodhna Moloney, 1 Niamh O’Dowd.
Replacements: 16 Neve Jones, 17 Siobhán McCarthy, 18 Andrea Stock, 19 Grace Moore, 20 Deirbhile Nic a Bháird, 21 Molly Scuffil-McCabe, 22 Nicole Fowley, 23 Aoife Dalton.

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand) & Jenny Lui (USA)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)

Sunday, October 6

New Zealand v England
(Langley Event Centre, Langley – Kick-off: 13.00, 20.00 GMT; 21.00 UK time, 09.00 Monday, Oct 7 New Zealand time)

Prediction
@rugby365com: England by three points.

Teams:

New Zealand Women: TBC

England Women: 15 Ellie Kildunne, 14 Abby Dow, 13 Helena Rowland, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Jess Breach, 10 Holly Aitchison, 9 Natasha Hunt, 8 Alex Matthews, 7 Marlie Packer, 6 Morwenna Talling, 5 Abbie Ward, 4 Zoe Aldcroft, 3 Maud Muir, 2 Amy Cokayne, 1 Hannah Botterman.
Replacements: 16 Lark Atkin-Davies, 17 Mackenzie Carson, 18 Sarah Bern, 19 Rosie Galligan, 20 Maddie Feaunati, 21 Lucy Packer, 22 Zoe Harrison, 23 Emily Scarratt

Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (France)
Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa & Kristine Lovatt (Canada)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)