England Women Sevens head coach James Bailey has named his 12-player squad for the opening round of the 2018/19 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series in Glendale, Colorado on 20-21 October 2018 (live streamed on WorldRugby.org).
Captained by Abbie Brown, the squad includes seven players who represented England at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco this summer with six of those also part of the bronze medal-winning 2018 Commonwealth Games squad.
Alongside the experienced talent are five players who will make their World Series debut in Colorado after being announced as contracted members of the England Women Sevens squad in August: Abi Burton, Ellie Kildunne, Celia Quansah (pictured above), Helena Rowland and Emma Uren.
“We have a great blend of experience and youth in our squad for this opening round of this year’s World Series,” said Bailey.
“Having players who have been to a number of World Series tournaments, an Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Cup, complemented by a number of new recruits who each bring something very unique is very exciting.
“We’re really pleased with the way that the squad has gelled throughout a relatively short pre-season, most notably during our recent training tournament in France. The cohesion on and off the pitch has been really impressive and we’re looking forward to seeing how the benefits of that will pay off in Glendale.”
England are drawn in Pool B and will face USA, New Zealand and China in the knock-out stage of the competition.
Hosted at Infinity Park, Glendale is a new addition to the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series which has increased to six rounds for the 2018/19 season.
Bailey added: “The World Series increasing to six rounds is really positive for the women’s game. The competition on the circuit is getting increasingly tough each season and with Olympic qualification at stake, this season will undoubtedly be the toughest yet.”
England Women Sevens squad for Glendale, Colorado:
Holly Aitchison
Claire Allan
Jess Breach
Abi Burton
Abbie Brown ©
Deborah Fleming
Natasha Hunt
Ellie Kildunne
Celia Quansah
Helena Rowland
Emily Scarratt
Emma Uren
England’s Pool B fixtures, all streamed live on WorldRugby.org. Highlights will be broadcast on Sky Sports Mix at 11pm on Sunday 21 October with full repeats on Monday 22 October.
11:14am v USA – (BST 18:14pm Saturday 20 Oct)
14:20pm v New Zealand – (BST 21:20pm Saturday 20 Oct)
16:42pm v China – (BST 11:42pm Saturday 20 Oct)
Courtesy of the RFU
