England Women change half-back pairing for Six Nations clash vs Ireland
Watch England vs Ireland in the Women's Six Nations live on Sky One, Sky Sports Action or on YouTube from 12.15pm on Sunday
Last Updated: 21/02/20 12:44pm
England Women head coach Simon Middleton has made three changes to the starting XV for their Six Nations clash with Ireland on Sunday.
They include a new half-back pairing as England look to continue their Grand Slam defence in this year's championship.
Leanne Riley returns at scrum-half while Sarah McKenna and Katy Daley-Mclean are also back in from the start for the meeting between the competition's two unbeaten teams at Doncaster's Castle Park.
"Our strength-in-depth and competition for places has seen us make a few changes", said Middleton.
"Leanne Riley returns as we rotated the squad from last week. Mo Hunt went well for us in Scotland as did Claudia MacDonald who I thought had her best performance in an England shirt coming on as a finisher.
"We are lucky to have three such outstanding scrum-halves and it's crucial we keep them all ticking over, hence the changes for this week.
"We've brought Katy [Daley-Mclean] back in for this game as her ability to marshal the troops and manage the side around the field will be essential in such a high-pressure game. Katy brings a calmness and composure to the no10 role which is critical in such big games."
England and Ireland both have two wins so far and sit at the top of the Six Nations table with nine points each.
England have won back to back away games against France and Scotland while Ireland have come out on top in their two home games against Scotland and Wales.
Red Roses: 15 Sarah McKenna, 14 Abby Dow, 13 Emily Scarratt, 12 Amber Reed, 11 Jess Breach, 10 Katy Daley-McLean, 9 Leanne Riley; 1 Vickii Cornborough, 2 Lark Davies, 3 Sarah Bern, 4 Poppy Cleall, 5 Zoe Aldcroft, 6 Sarah Beckett, 7 Vicky Fleetwood, 8 Sarah Hunter (c)
Replacements: 16 Amy Cokayne, 17 Detysha Harper, 18 Shaunagh Brown, 19 Harriet Millar-Mills, 20 Amelia Harper, 21 Natasha Hunt, 22 Zoe Harrison, 23 Emily Scott.
