According to Sadia Kabeya, England is well-prepared to demonstrate their ability to overcome numerous absences when they face Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday. The Red Roses are currently without 10 players due to injury or pregnancy for the Guinness Women's Six Nations round two match, including double World Cup winner Alex Matthews, who is sidelined with a shoulder issue. This has significantly impacted their second row, where 22-year-old Lilli Ives Campion, with just six caps, is now the senior lock and will partner with Abi Burton, who has been converted from the back row.
Kabeya views the current crisis as an opportunity for England to showcase the depth of their squad as they aim to build on their 33-12 victory over Ireland in the championship opener. "The strength of our team lies in its depth, and now is the perfect time to prove it," the flanker stated. "Although it's unfortunate to have so many injuries and missing key leaders, the players stepping in have been performing well in the Premiership Women's Rugby all season, and our training has been going smoothly. We still have the Red Roses squad, just with a few different names, and we always emphasize being one team with depth, which we can now fully demonstrate." A record crowd of over 25,000 is expected to attend the match, where Rachel Malcolm's underdogs will attempt to pull off an upset in the highest attendance for a standalone women's sporting event in Scotland.
"I've never played at Murrayfield before," Kabeya said. "I recall watching a game there from home when it was snowing and freezing, thinking I was lucky not to be there.
At that time, I was nowhere near the England squad, so now I have the chance to play there myself. The growth of the women's game over the past couple of years has been amazing to see. It will be a significant moment for the Scottish team, so it's going to be an emotional day and an emotional game. It will be a day that will go down in history, and I'm excited to be a part of it."