England are re-grouping for two days of training preparations at Bisham Abbey before flying out to Grenoble; the Red Roses take on France on Saturday, kick-off 1.15pm
Tuesday 10 November 2020 11:20, UK
Simon Middleton has named a 30-player training squad as England Women prepare for this weekend's Autumn international against France.
World Cup winner Laura Keates is included following impressive performances in Worcester Warriors' Allianz Premier 15s matches.
Wasps Ladies duo Abi Burton and Megan Jones have been training with the group since the start of the season and are once again named in the squad.
Discussing the squad announcement, England head coach Middleton said: "We were absolutely delighted to win the Grand Slam in Italy.
"This is a group that's trained really well and we're pleased with how we're progressing. Training is competitive and that was reflected in our performance over in Italy.
"Our focus now moves onto the game against France on Saturday.
"While we have a number of absentees, we have real strength-in-depth as shown in our training squad selection.
"We're looking forward to two days of preparation before heading out to France later this week."
Among those who miss out, Sarah Bern, Lydia Thompson and Hannah Botterman will not feature after picking up injuries in their Allianz Premier 15s weekend matches.
England are set to re-assemble at Bisham Abbey today, nine days after securing the Women's Six Nations Grand Slam title in Italy.
They will then fly to France on Thursday ahead of Saturday's match in Grenoble, kick-off 1.15pm GMT.
The matchday squad will also be named on Thursday.
Forwards: (16)
Sarah Beckett (Harlequins Women, 18 caps); Shaunagh Brown (Harlequins Women, 18 caps); Abi Burton (Wasps FC Ladies, 0 caps); Poppy Cleall (Saracens Women, 41 caps); Amy Cokayne (Harlequins Women, 51 caps); Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins Women, 54 caps); Lark Davies (Loughborough Lightning, 26 caps); Detysha Harper (Loughborough Lightning, 2 caps); Sarah Hunter (Loughborough Lightning, 123 caps); Laura Keates (Worcester Warriors, 60 caps); Heather Kerr (Wasps FC Ladies, 23 caps); Alex Matthews (Worcester Warriors, 37 caps); Harriet Millar-Mills (Wasps FC Ladies, 56 caps); Marlie Packer (Saracens Women, 72 caps); Morwenna Talling (Loughborough Lightning, 1 cap); Abbie Ward (Harlequins Women, 43 caps)
Backs: (14)
Holly Aitchison (Saracens Women, 0 caps); Jess Breach (Harlequins Women, 14 caps); Katy Daley-Mclean (Sale Sharks Women, 115 caps); Abby Dow (Wasps FC Ladies, 13 caps); Zoe Harrison (Saracens Women, 24 caps); Megan Jones (Wasps FC Ladies, 9 caps); Ellie Kildunne (Wasps FC Ladies, 9 caps); Claudia MacDonald (Wasps FC Ladies, 10 caps); Amber Reed (Bristol Bears Women, 58 caps); Leanne Riley (Harlequins Women, 37 caps); Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 1 cap); Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning, 90 caps); Kelly Smith (Gloucester-Hartpury Women, 13 caps); Lagi Tuima (Harlequins Women, 5 caps)
