England women's rugby skipper Catherine Spencer, from Folkestone, says her side are determined to bounce back to form when they take on Ireland in the RBS 6 Nations at St. Mary's RFC in Dublin on Friday (kick-off 6.30pm).

The Red Roses suffered their first defeat since the 2006 IRB Rugby World Cup final against Wales nearly two weeks ago, and in losing that game it took away the chance of winning a fourth consecutive and unprecedented grand slam.

She said: "With the break in games last weekend we've been able to come together as a squad and fit in some valuable training time.

"The team as a whole, and every individual, has been forced to look at our performance in great detail, but now we are all really chomping at the bit to take to the field against Ireland and put on a winning performance."