Red Roses name Squad for Autumn Internationals

The past six months have been tough. Weekends stretched out indefinitely. The mid-week buzz you got from the team announcement was just a hazy memory. You had to go outside and speak to people and spend time with your family. It was awful.

But fear not, because the Red Roses are back! Yes that’s right, after six months without any international women’s rugby, England are gearing up for their Autumn Internationals against the USA, Canada and Ireland.

Head coach Simon Middleton has named his 36-strong squad for the series in November and has included a few new faces, notably five players from the U20s team who toured Canada this summer – Lucy Attwood (Bristol Bears), fly half Ellie Green (Harlequins), prop Ellena Perry (Saracens), hooker Connie Powell (Gloucester-Hartpury) and No 8 Sarah Beckett (Firwood Waterloo).

The Autumn series has always been a great way to expose less experienced players to Test rugby and that seems to be Middleton’s approach to this series, which means that the line-ups for the three matches are likely to be somewhat experimental, with more chopping and changing between matches than would take place during the Six Nations.

But this is part of the reason why the Autumn Internationals are so important for the development of the Red Roses, as it’s a chance to see what the youngsters can do on the big stage, and uncover some hidden gems who haven’t yet had a chance to shine in the international arena.

All three opponents will be eager to get a win over the Red Roses, who have beaten them all over the last fifteen months. The Canadians have suffered particularly badly at their hands, losing all three tests rather emphatically the last time they visited these shores in November 2017.

England begin the series against the USA on 9th November, before travelling up north to Doncaster to take on Canada on 18th November. Their final game against Ireland on 24th November is at Twickenham.

England training squad

Forwards

Sasha Acheson (Gloucester-Hartpury), Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), Sarah Beckett (Firwood Waterloo), Hannah Botterman (Saracens), Jo Brown (Loughborough Lightning), Shaunagh Brown (Harlequins), Rowena Burnfield (Richmond FC), Poppy Cleall (Saracens), Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins), Lark Davies (Worcester Valkyries), Vicky Fleetwood (Saracens), Sarah Hunter (Loughborough Lightning), Heather Kerr (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Justine Lucas (Loughborough Lightning), Catherine O’Donnell (Loughborough Lightning), Marlie Packer (Saracens), Ellena Perry (Saracens), Connie Powell (Gloucester-Hartpury), Abbie Scott (Harlequins).

Backs

Lucy Attwood (Bristol Bears), Racheal Burford (Harlequins), Katy Daly-Mclean (Loughborough Lightning), Abby Dow (Wasps FC Ladies), Ellie Green (Harlequins), Zoe Harrison (Saracens), Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury), Claudia Macdonald (Wasps FC Ladies), Caity Mattinson (Bristol Bears), Sarah McKenna (Saracens), Charlotte Pearce (Loughborough Lightning), Amber Reed (Bristol Bears), Leanne Riley (Harlequins), Kelly Smith (Gloucester-Hartpury), Lydia Thompson (Worcester Valkyries), Millie Wood (Gloucester-Hartpury), Carys Williams (Loughborough Lightning)

Red Roses Autumn Fixtures

England v USA Friday 9th November @ Allianz Park

England v Canada Sunday 18th November @ Castle Park, Doncaster

England v Ireland Saturday 24th November @ Twickenham Stadium