England Women Sevens head coach James Bailey has named his 12-player squad for the HSBC Sydney Sevens taking place on 1-3 February.
The side remains unchanged from the HSBC New Zealand Sevens ‘Fast Four’ invitational competition last weekend where England won bronze after playing New Zealand, China and France in a round-robin contest.
Broadcast live on Sky Sports Arena, Sydney is the third leg of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series this season.
Drawn in Pool A, England will face France, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand in the group stage on day one of the competition.
“We’re in a good place heading into Sydney following an invaluable weekend in Hamilton,” said Bailey.
He added: “Playing in the Fast Four tournament provided us with a great opportunity to get some meaningful game time across the entire squad, while also exposing some of our younger and newer players to first-class opposition before facing them on the World Series.
“We haven’t had much experience in playing Papua New Guinea, so as a bit of an unknown for us, we’re really looking forward to seeing what they bring at the weekend.”
As well as Dubai, Sydney is another World Series leg that is combined with the men’s tournament, with Bailey adding: “Australia will hold fond memories for those who competed in the Commonwealth Games last year, and for those who haven’t experienced playing in this country before, I’m really looking forward to them experiencing the amazing fan support that we get right across the weekend.”
England Women Sevens squad for Sydney:
Lizzie Adam
Holly Aitchison
Claire Allan
Abbie Brown ©
Abi Burton
Deborah Fleming
Megan Jones
Alex Matthews
Celia Quansah
Helena Rowland
Emma Uren
Amy Wilson Hardy
Travelling reserve: Emma Hardy
England’s Pool A fixtures, Friday 1 February, live on Sky Sports Arena:
- England v France, 01:44
- England v Papua New Guinea, 04:28
- England v New Zealand, 07:34
Courtesy of the RFU
