England Women vs France Ladies: Marlie Packer wins 70th cap
Watch England Women vs France Ladies, Saturday, 12.45pm, Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports Arena
Last Updated: 16/11/19 12:55pm
Head coach Simon Middleton has made two changes to the England Women starting XV ahead of the Quilter International against France on Saturday.
Worcester Warriors' Lydia Thompson gets the nod on the wing and Heather Kerr is a late change at hooker after Lark Davies was ruled out due to injury. Meanwhile, Marlie Packer is set to earn her 70th cap.
The Red Roses name the same 23-player group that secured an impressive 20-10 victory over Les Bleues at the Stade de Michelin in Clemont-Ferrand last weekend and will host Annick Hayraud's side at Exeter Chiefs' Sandy Park home on Saturday [November 16, kick-off 1.10pm].
They will fine-tune their preparations in Devon ahead of the game, live on Sky Sports Mix and Action.
Middleton said: "We were delighted to secure our first win in France since 2012. The players put a real shift in and stuck to the plan.
"We have had a good week's recovery and preparation, which we will now complete in Devon.
"As we expected, last week's game was incredibly competitive, while at the same time, it was clear to see that both sides hadn't played competitively for a couple of months.
"However, I expect both teams to have shaken off some of the ring rust this week and the skill execution should be evident in the performances.
"Certainly from our point of view, we will be looking to improve on a couple of areas, the primary one being our handling.
"France had the lion's share of both the possession and field position last week, which we countered with a very good defensive performance.
"This week, we will be looking to address both those balances and with it, show more of our attacking capabilities.
"Sandy Park is a great venue. When we played there against Italy in the Six Nations, the reception from the crowd and the people of Exeter was brilliant and we can't wait for Saturday's game."
France have made a number of changes to their starting line-up including Ian Jason starting on the wing in place of Marine Menager who drops to the bench. Laure Sansus and Morgane Peyronnet form a new-look half-back pairing and Celine Ferer starts on the flank in place of Marjorie Mayans.
Uncapped duo Amelie Roux and Marie-Aurelie Castel have been named on the French bench.
England Women: 15 Sarah McKenna , 14 Lydia Thompson, 13 Emily Scarratt, 12 Zoe Harrison, 11 Abby Dow, 10 Katy Daley-Mclean, 9 Leanne Riley, 1 Hannah Botterman, 2 Heather Kerr, 3 Sarah Bern, 4 Zoe Aldcroft, 5 Abbie Scott, 6 Sarah Beckett, 7 Marlie Packer, 8 Sarah Hunter (c)
Replacements: 16 Rownita Marston,17 Ellena Perry, 18 Shaunagh Brown, 19 Poppy Cleall, 20 Vicky Fleetwood, 21 Natasha Hunt, 22 Emily Scott, 23 Jess Breach
France Ladies: 15 Jessy Tremouliere,14 Caroline Boujard, 13 Camille Boudaud, 12 Gabrielle Vernier, 11 Ian Jason 10 Morgane Peyronnet, 9 Laure Sansus; 1 Annaelle Deshaye, 2 Agathe Sochat, 3 Clara Joyeaux, 4 Lenaig Corson, 5 Safi N' Diaye, 6 Celine Ferer, 7 Gaelle Hermet, 8 Romane Menager
Replacements: 16 Caroline Thomas, 17 Celia Domain, 18 Maylis Traore, 19 Amelie Roux, 20 Julie Annery, 21 Pauline Bourdon, 22 Marie-Aurelie Castel
