England Women ring the changes for Ireland clash as Carys Williams and Tatyana Heard start at centre

With Simon Middleton, the England Women head coach, stating that the final Quilter international against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday is the final opportunity for players to impress on the international stage before the decision is made on which are offered professional contracts, it will be a particularly momentous occasion for centres Carys Williams and Tatyana Heard.

The duo made their debuts in the 57-5 rout of the United States two weeks ago, with Williams, 25, starting outside Heard, 23.

They are handed their second starts together, indicating they are viewed as a potential midfield combination building towards the 2021 World Cup.

Despite the future looking bright for them, Williams and Heard both felt that they had lost their shot to play for England.

Heard, who plays for Gloucester-Hartpury, had been a bright under-age prospect called into the England Under-20s squad only to sustain a string of serious injuries including a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, which kept her out of the game for 18 months. 

“I always wanted to play for England but I thought I was a bit past it after getting injured,” the Yorkshirewoman said. “I thought I had missed my chance to get back involved.”

Feeling “past it” at 23 says a lot about the state of English women’s rugby, where the depth of the playing pool is growing thanks to the Premier 15s, and the prospect of the reintroduction of full-time contracts is making players hungry.

Williams, the daughter of Welsh parents, had put any hopes of playing for England on the backburner and went travelling to Australia and Canada, playing club rugby. Upon her return, the Premier 15s was being formed and with her old club Litchfield not included, she decided to remain close to her home in Derby and play for Loughborough Lightning. 

It has been there that she was become a relatively late bloomer under the tutelage of former Wales women’s head coach Rhys Edwards.

She said: “I never thought even a year ago that I would play for England. Since I have been at Loughborough, the coach has given me the ambition and the belief to push for that, if you do work hard and consistently work hard, it is achievable.”

Williams whose strong defensive, game, power and pace has helped Lightning retain their unbeaten streak in the league, has also benefited from having England centurion fly-half Katy Daley-Mclean as a club mate. “Playing with Katy from club coming into England has made me a lot more relaxed, she is really approachable and I feel you can talk to her about mistakes or things that have gone wrong, she is really good about that in training.”.

The duo seemed in sync against the US, with Daley-Mclean pulling the strings from inside them, while, at Twickenham on Saturday, they will have 20-year-old Zoe Harrison keeping them company at fly-half.

Middleton said: “The midfield selection of Tatyana Heard, Carys Williams and Zoe Harrison is because not only are they good players but they need international experience – there is no better stage to put them on.”

The centre pairing are hoping to develop a telepathic relationship, with Williams explaining their differing personalities are helping the cause. “I am the more vocal one, I wouldn’t say I am panicking but I would be saying ‘oh, Tat are we doing this?’ and she is like ‘we’re doing fine’, she is very composed, whereas I am the more shouty one.”

The Test against Ireland will not be the first time either player has run onto the hallowed Twickenham turf as Williams played at half-time at an Army-Navy fixture as a 12-year-old, while Heard has experienced serious success there as her Cardiff Metropolitan side won a universities final in 2016. Both Williams and Heard will be staking a claim that Saturday will not be their last Twickenham appearance.

England Women (v Ireland, Saturday, Twickenham, 5.40pm, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Mix)