Super Series Preview – England vs France

A Six Nations clash will kick off the fourth round of the Women’s Rugby Super Series as England take on France at Chula Vista. Remarkably, both sides are coming off a win as Les Bleues upset New Zealand while England narrowly escaped defeat against Canada.

Despite the famous victory there are seven changes to the French side, three in the pack. Laure Touyé and Clara Joyeux come into the front row with Annaëlle Deshayes swapping tighthead prop for loosehead. Céline Ferer shifts to lock, with newly-arrived Brandy Cazorla making her first appearance of the tournament on the flank.

Camille Imart starts at flyhalf with Camille Cabalou named at inside center. Élise Pignot replaces the injured Maëlle Filopon at outside center, and Cyrielle Banet comes in on the left wing.

England have made wholesale changes to their side, nine in all. Heather Kerr and Sarah Bern come into the front row with Abbie Scott recaalled at lock. Poppy Cleall and Marlie Packer form an all-World Cup back row with captain Sarah Hunter.

Leanne Riley is recalled at scrumhalf, with Emily Scarratt back in wearing the No13 shirt. Lydia Thompson returns on the right wing and Sarah McKenna is fit to start at fullback.

Red Roses coach Simon Middleton expects Les Bleues to be up for this one.

“Saturday’s win against an outstanding Canadian side was huge for us in terms of the growth of this squad of players. It was a game we were second best in for long periods but hung in, found a way to nudge ourselves in front and then showed great composure and game management to close out the game.

“That side was incredible young and inexperienced as a group and we were massively proud of the character they showed. For France we have looked to bring in some of our more experienced, and senior, players as France are coming off the back of a great win against New Zealand and will be full of confidence.

“We know only too well that on their day they can be one of the toughest team in world rugby to play against and that’s the type of performance we will be expecting. However, we have massive belief and trust in this squad and our focus will very much be on ourselves and ensuring we deliver the level of performance we want.”

Kickoff is set for 2:15pm local time, 5:15pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available on FloRugby in the USA, Sky Sports in the UK, and France 4. Tickets are available now on the USA Rugby site.

ENGLAND
1 Vickii Cornborough, 2 Heather Kerr, 3 Sarah Bern, 4 Cath O’Donnell, 5 Abbie Scott, 6 Poppy Cleall, 7 Marlie Packer, 8 Sarah Hunter (capt.), 9 Leanne Riley, 10 Zoe Harrison, 11 Kelly Smith, 12 Amber Reed, 13 Emily Scarratt, 14 Lydia Thompson, 15 Sarah McKenna

Replacements: 16 Lark Davies, 17 Ellena Perry, 18 Hannah Botterman, 19 Zoe Aldcroft, 20 Sarah Beckett, 21 Claudia Macdonald, 22 Emily Scott, 23 Millie Wood

FRANCE
1 Annaëlle Deshayes, 2 Laure Touyé, 3 Clara Joyeux, 4 Céline Ferer, 5 Audrey Forlani, 6 Brandy Cazorla, 7 Coumba Diallo, 8 Gaëlle Hermet (capt.), 9 Pauline Bourdon, 10 Camille Imart, 11 Cyrielle Banet, 12 Camille Cabalou, 13 Élise Pignot, 14 Caroline Boujard, 15 Jessy Trémoulière

Replacements: 16 Agathe Sochat, 17 Caroline Thomas, 18 Célia Domain, 19 Madoussou Fall, 20 Axelle Berthoumieu, 21 Morgane Peyronnet, 22 Laure Sansus, 23 Morgane Ménager

Date: Wednesday, July 10
Venue: Elite Athlete Training Center, Chula Vista
Kickoff: 14:15 local (17:15 Eastern)
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)
Assistants: Emily Hsieh (USAR) & Julianne Zussman (RC)
Broadcasts: FloRugby (USA), France 4 (FRA), Sky Sports (UK)