EXPERIENCED prop Rochelle ‘Rocky’ Clark believes England women will hit the ground running in their Six Nations opener away to Scotland tomorrow (6pm).

Clark is among four Worcester players in the England squad and admits the hurt of finishing fourth in the competition last season was tough to take.

But Clark, who has racked up 105 appearances for her country, is confident England will make a positive start in their curtain-raiser at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld.

“The squad had a four-day camp last week which was very positive and it was fantastic to see we were all on the same page.

“In all honesty, last year was a tough pill to swallow as we finished fourth.

“We had lost some experienced players and we had six or seven new caps but those girls will have learned a lot, particularly, over the autumn.

“Those girls will now have eight or nine caps under their belt and that’s very refreshing for us as a squad.”

Worcester’s Ceri Large, with 42 caps, starts for England, while uncapped second row Courtney Gill and eight-cap scrum-half Bianca Blackburn are on the bench.

Lark Davies, who has one cap, will travel with England’s squad as a reserve, while her Worcester team-mate and prop Tracy Balmer starts for Scotland.

“I am really excited about Courtney getting her first championship cap because I have taken her under my wing at Worcester,” said Clark.

“Bianca and Ceri have been working very hard and look in good shape but, unfortunately, we are still missing Laura Keates who is recovering from an injured knee. It will be nice to come up against Tracy because I enjoy testing myself against people I know.”

The Scots have not won a game in the tournament since 2010.

They have failed to score a point in 15 of the 25 matches in the subsequent five championships.

Clark said: “It’s my first time playing in Cumbernauld so I am very excited about that.

“If we can take the heat out of Scotland upfront and secure plenty of ball we can unleash our backs and that’s what we want to do.

“I would like to think we can get off to a winning start in the competition.

“It’s never easy against any international side but we are probably expecting slightly tougher tests against Ireland and France.”

Meanwhile, Worcester flanker Sian Williams starts for Wales in their opening match against defending champions Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.