With less than four weeks to go before top seeds England kick off their Women’s Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 campaign in Dubai, the squad are fine tuning their preparations at the San Diego Sevens this weekend.

England, led by captain Sue Day, will play Japan and USA in San Diego on Friday – two of the sides they will meet again on day one of the first ever Rugby World Cup Sevens women’s competition at The Sevens in Dubai.

“San Diego for us is really all about dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s, getting everything right and putting it all into practice ready for the World Cup,” explained Day, a veteran of 59 Test caps for England Women.

“Certainly we hope we are already there, but this is our dry run. It’s also a great chance for us to learn more about our opposition and to get more game time, which is the most important thing for us.”

Day returned from the 15-a-side international scene in 2007, but the lure of playing alongside the leading sides in the men’s competition proved too strong to ignore.

“The chance to play in a Sevens World Cup was an opportunity I just couldn’t miss. I have played in three other World Cups, but they’ve always been in fifteens so this was and is really exciting.

The ultimate aim

“It has been hard work, it’s a new code to learn and a new programme to get on with but it’s great to be back with the players. Certainly being back hasn’t been a shock to the system, it’s just been a wonderful experience.”

Day is joined in the squad by her former England captain Jo Yapp, who also returned to international Rugby last season just to play Sevens. They are joined by a handful of players who were just making their mark when Day and Yapp called it a day in fifteens.

“This is a really exciting bunch of players and I am proud to be their captain,” added Day. “It’s nice to be back with Yappy as one of the two more experienced players, but it’s also nice to be playing with this young squad who, despite their age, already have huge amounts of international experience.

“They are players who aren’t afraid to give it a go – they want to make it happen. Our ultimate aim is to win the World Cup and I think we have the potential to do that with this squad.”

England Women squad for San Diego:
Sue Day (Captain), Maggie Alphonsi, Heather Fisher, Emma Layland, Sarah Beale, Jo Yapp, Rachael Burford, Danielle Waterman, Claire Allan, Kat Merchant, Michaela Staniford, Charlotte Barras.