John Mitchell has announced his first Red Roses 6 Nations Squad.
It is 35 strong:
Forwards
Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury, 48 caps), Lark Atkin-Davies (Bristol Bears, 54 caps), Sarah Beckett (Gloucester-Hartpury, 34 caps), Hannah Botterman (Bristol Bears, 42 caps), Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury, 10 caps), Poppy Cleall (Saracens, 65 caps), Kelsey Clifford (Saracens, 3 caps), Amy Cokayne (Leicester Tigers, 72 caps), Maddie Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped), Rosie Galligan (Saracens, 14 caps), Lizzie Hanlon (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped), Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning, 13 caps), Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury, 62 caps), Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury, 25 caps), Cath O’Donnell (Loughborough Lightning, 30 caps), Marlie Packer (Saracens, 99 caps), Connie Powell (Harlequins, 14 caps), Morwenna Talling (Sale Sharks, 11 caps), Abbie Ward (Bristol Bears, 61 caps) (19)
Backs
Holly Aitchison (Bristol Bears, 25 caps), Sophie Bridger (Saracens, 2 caps), Jess Breach (Saracens, 33 caps), Abby Dow (Trailfinders Women, 40 caps), Sydney Gregson (Saracens, 3 caps), Zoe Harrison (Saracens, 46 caps), Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury, 18 caps), Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury, 67 caps), Megan Jones (Leicester Tigers, 16 caps), Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins, 38 caps), Vicky Laflin (Trailfinders Women, uncapped), Lucy Packer (Harlequins, 16 caps), Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 28 caps), Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning, 108 caps), Emma Sing (Gloucester-Hartpury, 6 caps), Ella Wyrwas (Saracens, 6 caps) (16)
Absent injured: Sarah Bern, Claudia MacDonald, Nancy McGillivray.
New Category: Maisy Allen, Delaney Burns, Lilli Ives Campion and Liz Crake come into camp as cover for the week. This quartet suggests the further training sessions will still be ‘no holds barred’.
Reactions
In effect all Mitchell had to do was make a few final adjustments. He had at his disposal the 34 players he selected for the initial training sessions a week ago.
So many players were fully worth a place that only unwanted injuries a eased the choice a trifle. Poppy Cleall’s temporary ban has not held her back.
The one surprise addition is Maddie Feaunati. She, the daughter of Samoan test player, Issac Fe’aunati, joined Exeter only recently. Fortunately for the Red Roses, she was born in England.
Even so, some may question her choice ahead of so many other highly qualified prospects. As a back-rower she has plenty of competition. And she is dual qualified for New Zealand. How far was a Kiwi head coach responsible for this left-field selection? We’ll never know. Samoa might have liked her to join their outfit too.
Only two other uncapped players, Lizzie Hanlon and Vicky Laflin, survive the cull, so congratulations to them. Laflin has revealed the emotions she and her team-mates at Worcester had to suffer, so this call-up may be a recompense for all of them.
At the other end of the scale, all England fans must be delighted to see familiar names restored after absences of considerable lengths. They are Emily Scarratt, Amy Cokayne and Hallie Ward’s mother.
It remains to be seen how the selectors go about deploying the group for the five matches. They are bound to have in mind more distant goals even than the Round 5 crunch with the French. There is a second WXV to look forward to and a home World Cup next year.
There might be the temptation to try out some newer faces in Italy, but the odds must be that we will see what the management consider their strongest unit. There will be scope for changes later.
It’s quite another matter to assume every squad member will get an outing. That will be another indication of Mitchell’s overall strategy.
In an idle moment you could jot down your starting XV for Italy, then for France. But perhaps you’d prefer to leave the hard work to the management.
