England women target series win against Papua New Guinea Orchids
England women's rugby league will aim to to seal a 2-0 series victory over Papua New Guinea Orchids in Port Moresby on Saturday.
Craig Richards’ side opened their tour with a 24-10 victory in Goroka last weekend in front of almost 7,000 supporters, a match which saw captain Emily Rudge claim a four-try haul.
Rudge, who is married to Wigan Warriors women's player Gemma Walsh, is now determined to finish the job in front of another fanatical home crowd.
Rugby league is the national sport in Papua New Guinea and Saturday's game is being shown live on the BBC Red Button, BBC Online and Our League from 5am.
Rudge said: “It is going to be another big challenge for us as a team and for the girls.
“There are a couple of girls who haven’t come up against Papua New Guinea before and that will be a challenge for them.
“There is also a lot of hype around the game with it being shown live on BBC and Our League which means there is added pressure to perform.
“We have the additional issue of the heat as well which will only make the game tougher for us and we’re expecting a really difficult game. But we’re coming into the game confident. We were happy with where we were at following Saturday’s victory and we’ve had a really good week preparing for this game in Port Moresby.”
Richards has made a handful of changes to his squad with Castleford duo Rhiannion Marshall and Shona Hoyle coming in alongside Wigan’s Georgia Wilson, St Helens’ Leah Burke and Leeds Rhinos youngster Caitlin Beevers.
Wilson and Burke are both in line to earn their first Test caps after playing and scoring in the Downer World Cup Nines competition in Sydney last month.
Sinead Peach – who was the 18th player last weekend – could feature and Richards said: “Despite the scoreline, the first game was anything but comfortable.
“The Orchids were a really physical side and even though we didn’t play as well as we could have done in parts you can’t take away the level of effort the girls put into the game.
“Of course, there were a few things we weren’t happy with including our completion rate.
“We’ve had plenty to work on this week in training and we’re confident of coming into the game and getting another victory.”
