This is the squad John Mitchell has selected to play the USA Eagles on Friday evening:
15 KILDUNNE 14 DOW 13 JONES 12 HEARD 11 BREACH 10 HARRISON 9 HUNT 1 BOTTERNAN 2 COKAYNE 3 MUIR 4 TALLING 5 WARD 6 ALDCROFT (captain) 7 KABEYA 8 MATTHEWS
16 ATKIN-DAVIES 17 CLIFFORD 18 BERN 19 GALLIGAN 20 FEAUNATI 21 L. PACKER 22 SCARRATT 23 SING
The first essential is a win: this squad will provide one with plenty to spare.
But it leaves unanswered central questions: is this the intended line-up for the last game the Red Roses play in the tournament? Is Mitchell keeping some of his tinder dry for battles yet to come; not least the third group-stage match against the Aussies?
For me that means in particular positions 2, 3, 9, 10 and 11. It’s hard to draw a line between the current holders and their leading rivals, Lark Atkin-Davies, Sarah Bern, Lucy Packer, Holly Aitchison and Claudia Moloney-Macdonald.
Only the staff and players will know whether all 32 players can expect to appear at least once. We must hope so.
From a personal point of view the most important selection is Emily Scarratt. It should ensure she becomes the first Englishwoman to play in five RWCs, an astonishing achievement.
The Stadium of Light is getting close to its 48k capacity. It would be a fine send-off to see “sold out” notices on the gates.
