| Jo Yapp | The 2006 Six Nations Grand Slam winners, who are ranked second for the tournament behind the reigning World champions the Black Ferns, will be led by Worcester scrum-half Jo Yapp. Jo, whose family farm in Clee Hill, is a P.E. teacher at Bewdley High School. This is her 3rd World Cup after representing England in Holland in 1998 and Spain in 2002. England prepared for the tournament with a three week programme in England and five days training in Calgary. Throughout the tournament BBC Hereford and Worcester will be running an exclusive diary from Jo in Canada. |
Wednesday 6 September The World Cup is certainly going by quickly, with selection for our third game, which is against France, this morning. It's obviously a massive game for us as we need to win to get a good draw in the semi-finals, and if we lose we could even be out of the reckoning altogether. This, of course, made selection even harder to take as everyone wanted to be involved. The rest of the day was spent preparing for the match against France, and from what we have seen of them, they certainly look a better side than when we beat them in the Six Nations in March. It's going to be a tough match. It was also my 27th birthday today, so in the evening the whole squad and management team went out for dinner. Again, it was nice to get out of the hotel, and the girls surprised me with a big cake and some presents. A good end to another good day! THE LATEST WOMEN'S RUGBY WORLD CUP NEWS FROM BBC HEREFORD AND WORCESTER: Worcester's Joanne Yapp and Kim Shaylor are both included in the starting line-up to face France in the final group match of the Women's Rugby World Cup on Friday. England currently sit fourth on the IRB table following wins over the USA (18-0) and South Africa (74-8), but need a victory or a draw to confidently ensure a place in the semi-finals. England and France last locked horns in March when the Red Roses stormed to a 28-0 victory in Paris to take the Six Nations title in style. Richards, however, is not expecting a re-run of his team's emphatic victory, knowing that France are always a dangerous outfit. ENGLAND'S WORLD CUP SCHEDULE: September 8
 | | Tournament Launch in Edmonton, Canada. |
England v France at St. Albert RFC, Edmonton. KO 5pm local time. September 12 - Semi-finals: 1st v 4th (M19), St. Albert. KO 5pm local time. 2nd v 3rd (M20), Ellerslie Rugby Park. KO 5pm local time. 5th v 8th (M21), St. Albert. KO 2.30pm local time. 6th v 7th (M22), Ellerslie Rugby Park. KO 2.30pm local time. 9th v 12th (M23), St. Albert. KO 12pm local time. 10th v 11th (M24), Ellerslie Rugby Park. KO 12pm. September 16 - Consolation Finals (All Ellerslie Rugby Park): Loser M21 v Loser M22. KO 5pm. Winner M23 v Winner M24. KO 2.30pm. Loser M23 v Loser M24. KO 12pm. September 17 - Finals (All at the Commonwealth Stadium) Winner M21 v Winner M 22. KO 12pm. Loser M19 v Loser M20. KO 2.30pm. Winner M19 v Winner M20. KO 5pm. | 
