Tessier, Josephson to start against England

Alex Tessier and Lori Josephson return to the Canadian starting lineup to face England on Tuesday (Monday in Canada) as head coach François Ratier makes two changes to the side that were defeated by New Zealand by 28-16 on Friday. Tessier is recalled at flyhalf in an interesting move that sees Emily Belchos bumped out to inside centre for the first time. Josephson is a straight change at scrumhalf with Chelsea Guthrie swapping to the bench.

Moving to the bench despite a strong game in Wellington is Brittany Waters. The only other change to side sees Lep-Tigers front row Kristy Sargent nominated as reserve hooker in place of Mary-Jane Kirby. Influential duo Latoya Blackwood and Andrea Burk remain unavailable with injury.

England meanwhile have named their strongest lineup, changing 11 from the team that clobbered Australia by 53-10 in Porirua. Rochelle Clark is set to win her 123rd cap in the front row and there are recalls for a host of stars including captain and No 8 Sarah Hunter. The backline is headlined by Great Britain Olympic captain Emily Scarratt in the midfield and the electric Danielle Waterman at fullback.

Canada last faced England at Twickenham in November, a match that saw the hosts come away with a dominant 39-6 victory. A near-opposite result came in July of last year when Canada were on the right end of a 52-17 in Utah. The two sides were also head-to-head in the 2014 World Cup Final that saw England claim the title of champions with a 21-9 win.

The second round of the International Women’s Rugby Series will be a double-header hosted at Rugby Park in Christchurch. Kickoff is set for 12:30pm local time Tuesday, 8:30pm Eastern on Monday evening. A live stream will be provided by World Rugby. New Zealand will face Australia in the second match.

CANADA
1 Carolyn McEwen, 2 Laura Russell, 3 DaLeaka Menin, 4 Tyson Beukeboom, 5 Kayla Mack, 6 Jacey Grusnick, 7 Karen Paquin, 8 Kelly Russell (capt.), 9 Lori Josephson, 10 Alex Tessier, 11 Elissa Alarie, 12 Emily Belchos, 13 Amanda Thornborough, 14 Magali Harvey, 15 Julianne Zussman

Replacements: 16 Kristy Sargent, 17 Brittany Kassil, 18 Olivia DeMerchant, 19 Cindy Nelles, 20 Barb Mervin, 21 Chelsea Guthrie, 22 Brittany Waters, 23 Frédérique Rajotte

ENGLAND
1 Rochelle Clark, 2 Amy Cokayne, 3 Justine Lucas, 4 Abbie Scott, 5 Emily Braund, 6 Harriet Millar-Mills, 7 Marlie Packer, 8 Sarah Hunter (capt.), 9 LaToya Mason, 10 Amber Reed, 11 Sarah McKenna, 12 Megan Jones, 13 Emily Scarratt, 14 Lydia Thompson, 15 Danielle Waterman

Replacements: 16 Vicky Fleetwood, 17 Vickii Cornborough, 18 Sarah Bern, 19 Izzy Noel-Smith, 20 Alex Matthews, 21 Natasha Hunt, 22 Katy Mclean, 23 Kay Wilson

Referee: Graham Cooper (ARU)
Assistants: Rebecca Mahoney (NZRU) & Natasha Ganley (NZRU)