ENGLAND women’s rugby international Lark Davies believes her under-20 side’s 28-0 defeat against France wasn’t a true reflection on the match.

Lark was cheered on by her dad, sister Holly and boyfriend Steve in Saturday’s international at Esher Rugby Club.

She said: “The match was disappointing because we'd been working very hard since the away game in France to right our wrongs, through individual work and analysis.

“We definitely showed improvement but at times it was frustrating.

“We had many opportunities to score but we couldn't finish them. The 28-0 score doesn't reflect the way we played as we had a lot of possession and many try scoring opportunities.”

Although England started the game in a buoyant mood, France who won most of the early exchanges and opened up a 21-0 lead before the interval.

Lark, a former Wigmore High School pupil, started playing tag rugby at Orleton Primary School and she does casual work at Teme Leisure in Ludlow.

“Pulling on an England shirt is always such an honour, and singing the national anthem before the game is always emotional,” she said.

“I felt I played well, my scrummaging was good and I hit some good line outs but there are always things I can take from games to work on and improve.

“France are a good team and have many strengths but so, too, are England Under-20.

“I've really enjoyed playing for England - it's such an honour and reflects on your hard work throughout the year in the gym, training and in club games.

“Playing away in France was one of my best bits, although the score wasn't what we wanted, walking out into a stadium with a crowd of about 2,000 people was quite surreal, it was an experience I'll never forget. “

Lark says her sister, Fern, a Great Britain swimmer, was her first sporting inspiration

“Now I look up to the likes of Emma Croker and other England senior women. They all work incredibly hard as they still have jobs alongside rugby “

“My dad has always been there on the side of the pitch to support me and is always willing to go out of his way to help me. He's been my taxi and driven hundreds of miles to matches. Without his help I wouldn't have been able to develop into the rugby.”

Lark, who now stars for Worcester and is a former Luctonians and Greyhound player, says England might have a match against a Barbarians side in April.

She added: “I'm still eligible to play in the under-20 next year and the trials for next season are in May so I'll be working hard in preparation for April and the trials in May.