Zoe Aldcroft ready to unleash her frustrations on Scotland

England captain Zoe Aldcroft is ready to unleash her frustrations on Scotland and seal a Rugby World Cup semi-final place.

The influential flanker suffered a knee injury in the opener against the USA and has spent recent weeks reduced to banging the team drum from the sidelines.

Now she’s ready to make a different kind of noise against the Auld Enemy at Ashton Gate, as England chase a record-breaking 31st consecutive win.

"I would have rather been involved, but now I’m ready to attack these next few weeks," she said.

"I’ve full trust in the girls to do the job they’ve prepared for. Watching from the sidelines gives you a completely different perspective - you see the intricate things we talk about in training.

"It’s been important to stay present, whether in training, meetings or elsewhere. I’ve tried to be there as much as possible, but we’ve a strong leadership group and the girls lead on the pitch too, which is vital."

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England — who have never failed to reach the semi-finals in nine previous tournaments — have beaten Scotland 27 times in a row, their last defeat dating back 26 years.

John Mitchell’s side breezed through their three pool games with a combined score of 208–17, yet the head coach insists they’re still not at full tilt.

"I don’t think we need to be hitting 10 out of 10 right now," he said.

"We’ve had our share of adversity with injuries — that’s what tournaments throw at you — so the key is staying focused."

Scotland will look to Australia’s blueprint from last week, when the Wallaroos rattled England for the first half-hour before fading.

"They’ll always raise their game against us," added Mitchell. "There are still vulnerabilities in the Scottish side. There are chances to build pressure, and we’ll be hunting those weaknesses."

Scotland full-back Chloe Rollie says her team will summon the spirit of Braveheart as they prepare to "go to war".

The Jedburgh-born back, raised in the Borders where tales of resisting England run deep, knows what’s at stake — but this time Scotland must do it on enemy turf.

"We focus a lot on passion and pride, especially against England," she said. "It doesn’t take much to get ourselves riled up.

“It is possible and I think it is just about getting the passion there and almost the Braveheart feel of it.”

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