McLean back to captain England

Mclean, who has 62 caps, takes over the captaincy reigns from Lichfield No. 8 Sarah Hunter for the first time in 12 months.

Hunter has been ruled out through injury alongside the likes of Emily Scarratt, Kat Merchant, Danielle Waterman and Heather Fisher, while England are also without backs Alice Richardson and Jo Watmore, who are sitting out of the series for disciplinary reasons.

Mclean will lead a relatively experienced England side which sees the return of Saracen flanker Maggie Alphonsi in the starting line-up. Alphonsi has been sidelined since March 2012 with an injury but she teams up with Wasps’ Marlie Packer and Richmond’s Rebecca Essex in the back row.

England have experience too in the front row with Rochelle Clark, who is set to earn her 86th cap, Emma Croker and Sophie Hemming all starting. Clark has also been named as vice-captain.

In the backs, there is a new wing combination with Ruth Laybourn and Claire Allan starting whilst Rachael Burford and Amber Reed form the centre partnership. Bristol’s Kay Wilson will start at fullback whilst her club and country teammate, prop Sasha Acheson, could be set to win her first cap.

England Head Coach Gary Street said: “We are heading into this Series with a handful of injuries but we have got an experienced pack and a lot of pace in our backline. Playing France is going to be a tough and physical game but I am also very excited about our flanker combination of Marlie Packer and Maggie Alphonsi. We’ve had some good results without Maggie but undoubtedly she adds quality through her experience and knowledge.

“Katy last captained England a year ago in our successful Autumn International Series against New Zealand and she brings a wealth of experience and quality both on and off the pitch.”

A young England team last played France in the 2013 Six Nations and were on the wrong end of a 30-20 defeat whilst France also broke England’s unbeaten record at Twickenham that day. Although this England team is a very different looking side to the one beaten nine months ago Street is expecting this clash to be a thriller at the home of England Rugby.

Street added: “This is going to be a seriously tough test for us. France got a good win over us last season and they have just defeated Canada at the weekend but a tough test is exactly what we want as we continue to build towards the Rugby World Cup next season and playing at Twickenham is certainly going to add to the occasion of this Test match.”

England Team v France

15 Kay Wilson (Bristol)14 Claire Allan (Richmond)13 Amber Reed (Bristol)12 Rachael Burford (Thurrock)11 Ruth Laybourn (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)10 Katy Mclean (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks) (c)9 La Toya Mason (Wasps)1 Rochelle Clarke (Worcester) (VC)2 Emma Croker (Richmond)3 Sophie  Hemming (Bristol)4 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)5 Emily Braund (Lichfield)6 Marlie Packer (Wasps)7 Margaret  Alphonsi (Saracens)8 Rebecca Essex (Richmond)

Replacements:

16 Victoria  Fleetwood (Lichfield)17 Claire Purdy (Wasps)18 Sasha Acheson (Bristol)19 Hannah Gallagher (Saracens)20 Harrier Millar-Mills (Lichfield)21 Natasha Hunt   (Lichfield)22 Ceri Large (Worcester)23 Michaela  Staniford  (Wasps)

England Autumn International Series:

Nov 9, England v France, Twickenham Stadium, KO 5.05pm, live on Sky Sports 2 and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.Free entry to Twickenham Stadium following England Men’s QBE International.

Nov 13, England v Canada,The Twickenham Stoop, KO 7pm., live onwww.rfu.com/englandwomenlive and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. Tickets are available via www.ticketmaster.co.uk (0844 847 2492) and www.quins.co.uk (0208 410 6000). Tickets are priced at £10 for adults and £5 for Under 16s.