England women’s head coach, Simon Middleton, has named the 23-strong squad to face New Zealand on Saturday.
Katy Mclean and Emily Scarratt are confirmed starters and will earn their 80th and 60th cap respectively, while Rochelle Clark is named on the bench and could come on to earn her 116th cap, which would make the prop the world’s most capped women’s player.
England’s meeting with the Black Ferns at Twickenham Stoop will be their second match of the Old Mutual Wealth Series this autumn. They defeated France 10-5 in the first fixture this month, having also beaten Ireland 12-10 at University College Dublin on Sunday.
“This series is about building on our performances and developing as a squad. We expect a tough Test against the Black Ferns, as the world’s No1 side,” Middleton said. “We have two tough games under our belts where we have had the opportunity to test our resilience and the strength and depth of our squad. We look forward to bringing Emily Scarratt and Lydia Thompson back into the starting 15 and having the support of a home crowd. We encourage anyone coming down to Twickenham on Saturday to pop over to the Stoop for 12pm to get behind the Red Roses.”
England’s squad to face New Zealand
Danielle Waterman (Bristol), Lydia Thompson (Worcester Valkyries), Emily Scarratt (Lichfield), Rachael Burford (Aylesford Bulls), Fiona Pocock (Aylesford), Katy Mclean (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Natasha Hunt (Lichfield), Vickii Cornborough (Aylesford Bulls), Amy Cokayne (Lichfield), Laura Keates (Worcester Valkyries), Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield), Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol), Marlie Packer (Bristol), Sarah Hunter (Bristol), Emma Croker (Richmond), Rochelle Clark (Worcester Valkyries), Justine Lucas (Lichfield), Poppy Cleall (Bristol), Vicky Fleetwood (Saracens), La Toya Mason (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Emily Scott (Saracens), Claire Allan (Saracens).
