Sports
Women’s Six Nations 2024: England star Emily Scarratt ‘needs time to find feet’ after long absence
| Venue: Ashton Gate, Bristol Dates: Saturday, 30 March Kick-off: 16:45 GMT |
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England centre Emily Scarratt needs more time to get up to speed with the international game, says former team-mate Katy Daley-McLean.
Scarratt, 34, returned to rugby in February following neck surgery and on Sunday played her first England match since the World Cup final in 2022.
She made errors in England’s 48-0 Women’s Six Nations win over Italy and was replaced after 51 minutes.
“The pace of the game was different. It was a bit quicker,” said Daley-McLean.
Scarratt, World Player of the Year in 2019, has only played a handful games for Loughborough Lightning since recovering from disc replacement surgery.
“She’s a very talented rugby player but she will be disappointed with some of her moments,” Daley-McLean told the BBC’s Rugby Union Daily podcast.
“There was a pass she threw forward straight into touch, a kick she put out.
“She hasn’t been in camp training as much as the rest of the girls. These are all things you’ve got to take into account.”
Red Roses head coach John Mitchell played Scarratt at inside centre instead of outside centre, where she has won the majority of her 109 caps.
Mitchell also paired Scarratt with Loughborough team-mate Helena Rowland in a new-looked centre partnership, while fly-half Zoe Harrison made her return after a knee injury ruled her out of the 2023 international season.
England’s attack looked slicker after Holly Aitchison came on for Scarratt and Natasha Hunt took over from Lucy Packer at scrum-half, although Italy’s players had started to tire.
Aitchison also took on the goal-kicking duties from the struggling Harrison, as 14-player England ran in eight tries in Parma.
“I think at the moment we’ve got to give them a bit of time to find their feet again,” said Daley-McLean.
Former England flanker Maggie Alphonsi said Scarratt is “not a typical 12”.
“The best thing about England is they’ve got Amber Reed who can slot in at 12 and give you another 10 almost,” said Alphonsi. “And you’ve got Tatyana Heard who can give you that crashing up sort of 12.
“I guess what Mitchell wants is a variety of options so we have different attacking plays. That makes England a little bit more unpredictable.”