McLean to lead Sevens side for first time
England XV captain Katy McLean has been handed the captaincy of the England Sevens squad for an international upcoming tournament in France at which she will make her debut in the short-form of the game.
Published by Scrum Queens, October 2nd, 2012
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McLean, who has 55 XV caps, will lead the team to contest the France International Sevens on October 12-13 at the Centre National de Rugby, in Marcoussis, France. Other teams competing include the home side's A team, Spain, Holland and Germany.
Wasps lock Jo McGilchrist will also make her debut in Sevens and at the same time a long awaited retrurn from injury to the England shirt alongside other injury returnees and sisters Fran and Alex Matthews as well as Claire Allan.
England Women Sevens Head Coach Barry Maddocks said: Our aim for this tournament is to expose even more players to international Sevens rugby to help provide us with the strength and depth we need with a busy year of international rugby in XVs and Sevens ahead.
Katy, Jo and Alex are all experienced XVs players who have shown an interest in Sevens and this will be their chance to show us what they can do.
Its really exciting to have the three of them involved, especially Alex, who I have known since she was 16 as an Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) student at Hartpury College. She is a talented young player with a lot of physical presence and pace.
Katy is the natural choice for captain for this tournament, given her XVs experience and her performances in the domestic sevens tournaments this year while I am sure Jo will want to make a real impression as she comes back from injury.
Englands more experienced Sevens players come in the form of Allan, who played in the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens, while the likes of Abigail Chamberlain, Sarah Guest, Sarah McKenna, Katherine Merchant, Leanne Riley, Natasha Brennan and Sally Tuson all ran out for England Sevens last season.
All teams will play each other and they will then be seeded one to six, with the top two teams playing off for the Cup.
England Sevens
Claire Allan (VC) (Richmond)Natasha Brennan (Wasps)Abigail Chamberlain (Richmond)Sarah Guest (Worcester)Alexandra Matthews (Richmond)Francesca Matthews (Richmond)Joanna McGilchrist (Wasps)Sarah McKenna (Wasps)Katy McLean (C) (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)Katherine Merchant (Worcester)Leanne Riley (Saracens)Sally Tuson (Bristol)
France Sevens Schedule:
Friday, October 12th2.22pm England v Spain3.22pm England v France A4.44pm England v Holland6.06pm England v Germany
Saturday, October 13th9.44am England v France10.22 Bowl Final10.44 Plate Final11.06 Cup Final