The Army Senior Women’s team begins their build-up to the 2023 Inter-Services Championship with a stiff test against Sweden this Saturday in Aldershot.
It was a busy few weeks before Christmas for Head Coach, WO2 Sarah Mitchelson (RLC), and her staff and players, with the inaugural International Defence Force Women’s World Cup followed shortly afterwards by an open trial for players seeking selection into the 2023 squad. But things will step up several notches on Saturday against a Sweden outfit which has been improving rapidly over the last few years.
Sweden are the reigning Rugby Europe Women’s Trophy champions, beating Finland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland en route to the title. This both put them into 19th position in the world rankings and elevated them into the 2022/23 Rugby Europe Women’s Championship and in with a chance of qualifying for the inaugural WXV tournament later in the year.
WO2 Mitchelson says that the clash in Aldershot will be an ideal opportunity to run the rule over a red shirt group which both won the 2022 Inter-Services Championship in style and provided the majority of players to the UKAF squad which travelled to New Zealand.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to test ourselves against Sweden, who have been improving rapidly over the last few years,” she says. “After a good open trial before Christmas there’s been a positive atmosphere in training this week and all of our players have been looking forward to getting back into action against them.
“Saturday’s game is about seeing how we react to pressure, who puts in strong performances for themselves and for the team, and having the opportunity to watch more players represent the Army for the first time.
“It has been a few years since we played an international team, and hopefully we will have plenty of support at Aldershot on Saturday.”
Saturday’s game kicks off at 1500hrs, and all are welcome to the Army Rugby Stadium.
Words © New Dogs, Old Tricks
Header and Featured Image – Alligin Photography © Cat Goryn
