Kelsey Clifford raring for Red Roses camp as Saracens roll on
The Red Roses are in a period of flux. With Simon Middleton on his way out following the Six Nations after eight years as head coach, it is all change in England’s camp.
Selection has followed suit. Nine uncapped players have been selected for the Red Roses’ 2023 Six Nations squad.
Kelsey Clifford, the 22-year-old tighthead in fine form for Saracens this season, joined fellow uncapped teammate May Campbell in the new-look England squad.
Clifford said: “It has a massive honour, whether I get selected [for the games] or not, I’m proud to just be in the group and try and put them in the best place to get the Grand Slam, hopefully.”
Clifford made it clear that the nine-strong Saracens contingent in the England camp will help her bed into life with the Red Roses quickly.
“That’s a lot of players. We’re like a little family. I know how they play, I know they’ll support me, and it just makes going into camp that little bit easier.”
This form continued on Saturday as Saracens dispatched Sale Sharks in a 62-7 win, with Clifford playing a vital role in a dominant Sarries scrum that won the ball against the head several times.
After the game, Clifford attributed their dominance to the mindset Sarries infamously call the ‘wolf pack’ mentality.
She said: “We had a real focus this week that we want to set a platform. We’re the wolf pack, we want to dominate. We strive to get penalties off scrums and mauls, but if we don’t, we’re holding our own, and it’s a good platform for the scrum-half to play off.
“It is just a mentality. We come together and knuckle down, whether that’s in the scrum, in the maul or in defence.”
Indeed, it was a classic performance from Sarries, who are now on a seven-game winning streak following an up-and-down start to the year.
The North London club are currently cemented in the play-off places sitting third, and look like a major threat to win the title for the second year in a row.
For the visiting Sharks, Elizabeth Duffy was selected for the Red Roses camp, becoming Sale’s first home-grown academy graduate to earn a place in the squad.
The ecstasy that comes with that may have been short-lived. In the second half, Duffy went off injured.
“Oh, no way,” remarked one of her Sharks teammates in the stand in disbelief as the fly-half hobbled off. Her teammate may have had the opportunity of a lifetime taken away from her.
Depending on the extent of the injury, Duffy may be out for the Six Nations, furthering the Red Roses’ woes at fly-half following Zoe Harrison’s ACL tear against Harlequins last month.
Harrison will be a huge miss for club and country, having developed one of the most clinical kicking games in world rugby to match her outstanding distribution.
Speaking of the fly-half’s absence, Clifford said:” When she did it in the game, we said ‘this is for her’. We’ve now got players who can step up and it’s about backing their decisions.
“Flo [Williams] has been outstanding in the last couple of games, and she’s really stepped up to the mark.”
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