England coach Middleton wants to ruin the party atmosphere in Wales when sides clash in TikTok Women’s Six Nations
SIMON MIDDLETON has told England to play the role of ‘galvanised’ Wales’ professional party poopers at a ‘bouncing’ Kingsholm on Saturday.
Both teams enter the TikTok Women’s Six Nations clash unbeaten after the Red Roses racked up a ruthless 131 points against Scotland and Italy.
And Wales, fresh off the back of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) dishing out 12 new full-time contracts, have emerged as the Championship’s surprise package after stunning Ireland and Scotland on the opening two weekends.
The WRU’s shift in policy has ushered in a new era of professionalism on and off the pitch but England boss Middleton, 56, wants his players to burst their bubble in front of a bumper West Country crowd.
He said: “Wales’ new contracts have galvanised and lifted their group.
“And that’s shown in the nature of their performances and two wins out of two to date.
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“They have looked well organised and have finished strong in both games, and that’s testimony to the work Ioan (Cunningham) and his staff group have put in and the attitude of the players.
“It’s great to see and makes for a top-class game and a stadium that will be bouncing.
“A good number of their players play their club rugby in the Allianz Premier 15s and they have some real talent.
“It’s great to hear there are over 12,000 tickets sold - Kingsholm is a fantastic stadium in a real rugby hotbed and as players and staff, we can’t wait for Saturday.
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“We’re pleased with our performances to date and this weekend, our first home game, provides another opportunity for other players to step up.”
Middleton’s three-time defending champions come into the contest in red-hot form after thumping Scotland 57-5 in Edinburgh and the Azzurre 74-0 in Parma.
The England boss shuffled his pack in Italy last weekend but is reverting back to his strongest line-up for this afternoon’s Gloucestershire showdown.
Middleton makes eight changes from the Round 2 rout as scrum-half Lucy Packer makes her maiden international start and winger Jess Breach comes in for her first England appearance since May 2021.
Sarah Hunter skippers the side from No.8 while Lydia Thompson – who grabbed a hat-trick against Italy – misses out with injury and 55-cap international Natasha Hunt is on the bench.
Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap, one of the WRU’s 12 new professionals, leads her team into battle as boss Ioan Cunningham makes five changes to the team that edged past Scotland 24-19.
And back row ace Lillicrap, 34, said: “England are the top team in the world for a reason and we play with and against their girls week in, week out in.
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“We know how good they are so we’ve got to measure up, show them some respect and then give a great game.
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“We'll show them respect because we know how good they are but equally we don't fear them. We are excited and looking forward to the challenge.”
The TikTok Women’s Six Nations is more accessible than ever before. To find out how you can watch the Women’s Championship visit: