England Sevens ace Alice Richardson excited by captaincy challenge
Alice Richardson is relishing the chance to spearhead England's challenge at the Women's Sevens World Series in Texas.
Last Updated: 30/01/13 6:17pm
The Richmond player replaces Michaela Staniford as captain for the second leg of the event - with England opting to send a full-strength squad to Houston.
A youthful England side had finished seventh in Dubai - the opening round of the series - however Staniford, Heather Fisher, Katherine Merchant and Joanne Watmore are among the experienced campaigners in action.
And Richardson, who has six caps for the Sevens side, can't wait for the action to get underway on Friday.
"To be named as captain was quite unexpected to be honest but I am delighted and honoured to have been given this opportunity," said Richardson.
Excited
"I am excited to have the opportunity to lead a fantastic team and great group of friends. There are lots of leaders in our squad who have different but all equally valuable attributes so it doesn't ever feel like just one person is leading.
"We've got an experienced squad but at the same time we have some new players to the World Series which will make for a good mix as we continue to build our depth ahead of RWC 2013."
England will need to call on every ounce of experience after being pooled with New Zealand, the Netherlands and Trinidad & Tobago.
"There are no easy games in this series; all the pools are equally as tough now," added Richardson.
"We know all three games in our pool stage will be hard fought and all the teams have certain strengths and traits but we will focus on our game and what we are about rather than the opposition.
"This is a great team to be a part of and everyone is looking forward to the challenge ahead of us. We always set high expectations but treat every game as a final which I see as important, especially now the series is so competitive and games are won and lost on a single try or conversion."
England Sevens: Heather Fisher, Sarah Guest, Natasha Hunt, Ruth Laybourn, Alexandra Matthews, Katy McLean, Katherine Merchant, Marlie Packer, Alice Richardson (c), Emily Scarratt, Michaela Staniford, Joanne Watmore.
