Worcester Valkyries tighthead prop Laura Keates (pictured above) will start for England Women against France this Wednesday in the opening match of the Old Mutual Wealth Series at Twickenham Stoop (kick-off 7.45pm).
Fellow Valkyries Rochelle Clark and Ceri Large are also in the squad among the replacements for the match, which will be screened live on Sky Sports 1.
Ceri Large (Photo: Andy Baldwin)
There are 1,000 senior England caps across the squad, with Valkyries loosehead prop Clark looking to come off the bench and gain her 114th cap to equal the England record set by Jason Leonard in 2004.
Earlier this year France saw off England 17-12 at the Stade de la Rabine, Vannes to deny the Red Roses a Six Nations Grand Slam, while a last-gasp try in the Women’s Rugby Super Series allowed England to exact revenge in Salt Lake City in the summer, running out 17-13 winners to finish second in the series.
Since the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup, the Red Roses have met France four times, with France coming out on top three wins to one.
England Women
15 Danielle Waterman (Bristol, 60 caps)
14 Kay Wilson (Richmond, 36 caps)
13 Claire Allan (Saracens, 32 caps)
12 Rachael Burford (Aylesford Bulls, 56 caps)
11 Fiona Pocock (Aylesford Bulls, 29 caps)
10 Katy Mclean (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 77 caps)
9 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield, 29 caps)
1 Vickii Cornborough (Aylesford Bulls, 17 caps)
2 Amy Cokayne (Lichfield, 16 caps)
3 Laura Keates (Worcester Valkyries, 52 caps)
4 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 94 caps)
5 Emily Braund (Lichfield, 23 caps)
6 Alex Matthews (Richmond, 24 caps)
7 Marlie Packer (Bristol, 36 caps)
8 Sarah Hunter (Bristol, 81 caps) (c)
Replacements
16 Vicky Fleetwood (Saracens, 51 caps)
17 Rochelle Clark (Worcester Valkyries, 113 caps)
18 Sarah Bern (Bristol, 2 caps)
19 Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield, 34 caps)
20 Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol, 20 caps)
21 La Toya Mason (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 56 caps)
22 Emily Scott (Saracens, 12 caps)
23 Ceri Large (Worcester Valkyries, 50 caps)
Old Mutual Wealth Series
England vs France, Wednesday 9 November, Twickenham Stoop, 7.45pm
Ireland vs England, Sunday 13 November*, University College Dublin, 2pm
England vs New Zealand, Saturday 19 November, Twickenham Stoop, 12pm
England vs Canada, Saturday 26 November, Twickenham, 5.05pm
*Not part of Old Mutual Wealth Series
Report courtesy of Worcester Valkyries
