Friday 31 May 2019 15:27, UK
Emily Scarratt expects England to face a variety of challenges when they play their historic match against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.
The encounter marks the first time the Red Roses and the Baa-Baas have met in a women's game, with the invitation side including numerous experienced internationals from these shores and beyond.
World Cup winners Danielle Waterman, Ceri Large and Tamara Taylor are among the English contingent who will be lining up for the Barbarians, along with the world's most-capped women's player Rochelle Clark plus players from New Zealand, Australia, France, Wales and the USA.
Scarratt will only be a spectator for the match due to suffering a dislocated thumb in Loughborough Lightning's Tyrells Premier 15s semi-final defeat, but she is in no doubt as to what her England team-mates will have to contend with.
"You've got quality players playing in a team where they're essentially told to throw the ball around and express themselves - it's quite a dangerous combination," Scarratt told Sky Sports.
"We've obviously never played in a Barbarians game before, but they're tough games to get mentally right because the Barbarians play in a certain way.
"Everyone knows how they will approach it and what their week will look like, all of the off-field stuff which comes with being a Barbarian.
"For us, it's deadly serious. It's about prepping as well as we can for a really tough summer tour, so we've got to make sure we're in the right head-space for it."
Following this match, England head to San Francisco for the Super Series, where they will face New Zealand, Canada, USA and France in the round-robin tournament.
That gets underway with a match against the host nation on June 28 and Scarratt sees this weekend's game against the Barbarians as vital preparation for what she expects to be a tough tournament.
"It's going to be brutal," Scarratt said. "They're the best teams in the world, for one, but also the way they the play the game they're the most physical teams in the world.
"You're not going to have a reprieve somewhere where you can ease back a little bit or rest some players. It's going to be really tough, but at the same time an amazing opportunity to pit ourselves against the best players in the world, away from home.
"It's an important experience for us and a lot of the new girls who maybe haven't experienced that before."
England Women: 15 Sarah McKenna, 14 Lydia Thompson, 13 Lagi Tuima, 12 Amber Reed, 11 Kelly Smith, 10 Zoe Harrison, 9 Leanne Riley, 1 Hannah Botterman, 2 Lark Davies, 3 Sarah Bern, 4 Zoe Aldcroft, 5 Abbie Scott, 6 Poppy Cleall, 7 Jo Brown, 8 Sarah Hunter (c).
Replacements: 16 Clara Nielson, 17 Ellena Perry, 18 Chloe Edwards, 19 Rosie Galligan, 20 Rowena Burnfield, 21 Natasha Hunt, 22 Tatyana Heard, 23 Carys Williams.
Barbarians: 15 Danielle Waterman, 14 Jasmine Joyce, 13 Emily Wood, 12 Sene Naoupu, 11 Tova Derk, 10 Elinor Snowsill, 9 Kristina Sue, 1 Rochelle Clark, 2 Fiao'o Fa'amausili, 3 Steph Te Ohaere-Fox, 4 Carmen Farmer, 5 Dalena Dennison, 6 Justine Lavea, 7 Claire Molloy, 8 Linda Itunu
Replacements: 16 Heather Kerr, 17 Laura Keates, 18 Gaelle Mignot, 19 Tamara Taylor, 20 Georgina Gulliver, 21 Hannah Casey, 22 Ceri Large, 23 Kayla Ahki.
