Great Britain Women Sevens field two squads this weekend when they play in Kazan in the opening round of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix Sevens Series.
Head coach Simon Middleton has named two squads for the tournament, with players from England, Scotland and Wales coming together for their last official competition ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
GB Lions, which includes names who featured regularly on the World Series circuit plus Welsh player Jasmine Joyce, play Ukraine Portugal and Spain in the opening pools. Alice Richardson will captain the side with Emily Scarratt rested as a precautionary injury measure.
GB Royals, which features three Welsh players (Keira Bevan, Sioned Harries and Sian Williams), Scot Stephanie Johnston and eight English names, will play the Netherlands, France and Finland.
To have a focused look at the players in a busy playing schedule, Middleton will lead the GB Lions, supported by GB assistant coach Richie Pugh, while England assistant coach Susie Appleby and James Cooper lead GB Royals.
Middleton explained: “This is all about preparation for the Olympics. The Lions give a reflection of the continuity we’ve developed over the course of the past three World Series tournaments. The Royals side provides an opportunity for those players knocking on the door to give an account of themselves before selection is confirmed.
“We have this tournament and then a training camp in Wales before we name the squad for Rio. This is therefore one of the last opportunities for players to force their way into the Olympic squad. Regardless of final selection any of these players can potentially come into the equation at any time and they therefore need to take this chance to show they are ready to step in and perform to the level required.”
Of the competition he added: “We know there are going to be sides that don’t get the opportunity to play as often as we do, but there are also sides that have shown themselves to be very competitive on the World Series.
“The tournament therefore offers different challenges but for us it’s about consistency of our own performance and setting our own standards. There will be tough games and there is no doubt that we need to be competitive this weekend.”
Kazan is the first of two legs for the Rugby Europe Grand Prix Sevens Series, with the second taking place in Brive, France, after the Olympics on 24-25 September. For this season the GB Lions and GB Royals have taken the places of Wales and England.
GB Lions
Claire Allan
Abbie Brown
Heather Fisher
Vicky Fleetwood
Natasha Hunt
Jasmine Joyce
Sarah Mckenna
Katy Mclean
Alice Richardson (C)
Danielle Waterman
Jo Watmore
Amy Wilson Hardy
Fixtures (all times in BST with a live stream available here)
9.06am v Ukraine 1
1.51am v Portugal
2.14pm v Spain
GB Royals
Keira Bevan
Natasha Brennan
Rachael Burford (C)
Sioned Harries
Megan Jones
Stephanie Johnston
Fran Matthews
Marlie Packer
Emily Scott
Michaela Staniford
Sian Williams
Kay Wilson
Fixtures (all times in BST with a live stream available here )
8.22am v Netherlands
10.45am v France
1.52pm v Finland
Report courtesy of England Rugby
