TAMARA Taylor expects England’s opponents in the Women’s Six Nations to be gunning for the reigning world champions this spring – but the newly-installed skipper wouldn’t have it any other way.

England open their Six Nations campaign with a trip to Wales tomorrow afternoon, with Newcastle-based Taylor having replaced Darlington Mowden Sharks team-mate Katy McLean as the skipper of the national side.

While the England team that lines up in Swansea tomorrow will feature a host of changes from the side that won last year’s World Cup final because a number of players have been moved into the sevens squad in an attempt to qualify for next year’s Olympics, Taylor will still be leading a group of players with a world title to their name.

Beating England is therefore a major scalp, and Taylor accepts her new-look team will have a lot to live up to when they attempt to regain the Six Nations crown they relinquished to France last year.

“There’s a certain responsibility that goes hand in hand with being world champions, and we’re proud to be shouldering that right through this championship,” said the second-row forward. “There’s much more of a spotlight on us now, and that gives us a great chance to raise the profile of women’s sport, and women’s rugby in particular.

“Hopefully, we can continue the success and momentum that carried us all the way to success at the World Cup. There’s been a lot of changes – six of the girls have retired and seven have gone professional (and moved into the sevens squad) - but the feeling in the camp is really positive.

“It feels like a bit of a new start for everybody – we’ve obviously also got a new captain in myself and a new coach – and we probably needed that in the wake of the World Cup just to freshen things up again.

“It’s the start of a new chapter, and with the next World Cup having been brought forward to 2017, it’s actually quite a short turnaround in terms of developing a side that can defend our trophy.

“I know we’ve only just won the World Cup, but our focus has to be on starting to build up to the next one now, and that starts with Wales this weekend.”

Last year, England lost to France in their opening Six Nations fixture and were unable to recover the lost ground in their remaining matches.

Wales lost four of their five matches last season, so tomorrow’s opener should represent a reasonably inviting start, but with so many changes in the last few months, Taylor admits it will be something of a step into the unknown.

“We made a poor start last season, and if we’re honest, that didn’t really stand us in good stead for the rest of the tournament,” she said. “We can’t afford to do that again this time around, even though we’re coming into this year’s tournament in much more of a state of flux than has been the case in the past.

“It’s a new group of girls, but the training has been going really well and we’re optimistic about having a good championship and playing some good rugby.”

England’s Six Nations schedule includes a home game with Scotland at Darlington’s Northern Echo Arena on Friday, March 13, and Taylor cannot wait to skipper her nation on home soil.

“You have to stick to the old cliché of taking one game at a time, but that’s definitely a match I’ve already got half an eye on,” she said. “I’ve lived in the North-East for more than a decade now, and I hope the region’s adopted me. Mowden have played a massive role in my development, and it’ll be great to be part of an England game at the club’s home ground.”