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England bring back Mclean, Scott and Wilson Hardy for Japan 7s

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Olympians Katy Mclean, Emily Scott and Amy Wilson Hardy return to the England Sevens squad for the fourth leg of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series which takes places 22-23 April in Kitakyushu, Japan.

The trio are joined by Sarah McKenna and Megan Jones, with all five having formed part of England Women’s recent Grand Slam-winning Six Nations squad. Jones, who has six senior caps for the Red Roses, will make her World Series debut having travelled to Rio as one of two reserves for Team GB’s sevens team last year.

Drawn in Pool C, England face Canada, USA and Spain in the opening stages.

Coach James Bailey has made a number of changes to the squad, England’s most experienced so far this season. The side features seven of Team GB’s Rio Olympians to complement some newer names. These include Holly Aitchison, who made her World Series debut last time in Las Vegas, and is the latest player to have been awarded a part-time sevens contract by England.

England Women Sevens assistant coach James Bailey said: “Our goal remains to earn qualification for next year’s World Cup and next weekend is all about delivering a result to try to improve our overall standing. We are under no illusion as to the challenge we now face, but we have a strong squad of experienced players, adding to the youthful dynamic we’ve had this season so far.

“The additional five players that we have brought in have been training with us for a short time, have integrated well and quickly, giving us the largest squad we have had to select from so far this season.”

Going into this fourth leg of the six-tournament series, England sit in eighth place in the overall standings, six points behind France and four above Ireland.

The top four teams from the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, not including the four pre-qualified teams, will earn their place in the Women’s Sevens World Cup in San Francisco in July 2018. Eight more teams, including two European, will qualify through the regional championship placings.

Sunday’s medal matches are scheduled to be broadcast live on Sky Sports 3 from 9am BST. All other games will be available via livestream on WorldRugby.org.

England Women squad, Kitakyushu

1. Abbie Brown (C)
2. Heather Fisher
3. Jo Richardson-Watmore
4. Katy Mclean
5. Megan Jones
6. Emily Scott
7. Alice Richardson-Watmore
8. Holly Aitchison
9. Sarah McKenna
10. Millie Wood
11. Deborah Fleming
12. Amy Wilson Hardy

Schedule Pool C (all times in BST and games available via WorldRugby.org)

Saturday 22 April
v Canada, 1.52am
v USA, 4.14am
v Spain, 6.58am

Report courtesy of England Rugby