Tamara Taylor closes in on 100th appearance as England prepare to face France
Wednesday 1 February 2017 14:48, UK
England Women head coach Simon Middleton has named his matchday squad for their opening game of the 2017 Six Nations against France.
England begin their Six Nations campaign immediately after the men at Twickenham on Saturday kicking off at 7.35pm, live on Sky Sports Mix.
Darlington Mowden Park second-row forward Tamara Taylor will make her 99th international appearance while Amy Wilson-Hardy returns to the fold after a stint in Sevens, representing Team GB at the Rio Olympics.
Bristol centre Amber Reed also returns to the starting line-up after injury, while Richmond flanker Alex Matthews misses out with concussion.
"With 994 international caps between them, this is a strong England squad with a wealth of experience," Middleton told the England Rugby website.
"Preparation has been good, having had 10 days training as a group already. We feel ready to take on France, a side we know well.
"The Six Nations is an exciting and competitive tournament and we look forward to getting the campaign underway in front of a home crowd at Twickenham."
Live Women's Six Nations Rugby Union
England match-day 23 to face France;
15 Danielle Waterman (Bristol, 64 caps), 14 Lydia Thompson (Worcester Valkyries, 27 caps), 13 Emily Scarratt (Lichfield, 61 caps), 12 Amber Reed (Bristol, 32 caps), 11 Amy Wilson Hardy (Bristol, 3 caps), 10 Katy Mclean (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 80 caps), 9 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield, 33 caps), 1 Rochelle Clark (Worcester Valkyries, 117 caps), 2 Amy Cokayne (Lichfield, 20 caps), 3 Laura Keates (Worcester Valkyries, 56 caps), 4 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 98 caps), 5 Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield, 38 caps), 6 Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol, 24 caps), 7 Marlie Packer (Bristol, 40 caps), 8 Sarah Hunter (Bristol, 85 caps) (captain).
Replacements: 16 Vicky Fleetwood (Saracens, 54 caps), 17 Justine Lucas (Lichfield, 14 caps), 18 Sarah Bern (Bristol, 4 caps), 19 Zoe Aldcroft (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 2 caps), 20 Poppy Cleall (Bristol, 7 caps), 21 La Toya Mason (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 59 caps), 22 Emily Scott (Saracens, 16 caps), 23 Rachael Burford (Aylesford Bulls, 60 caps).
Follow all the thrilling action from Twickenham on Saturday 4 February, kick off at 7.35pm live on Sky Sports Mix.
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