Lightning star Brown back in England squad

LOUGHBOROUGH Lightning’s Abbie Brown has been called up by England for the first time since her return to the 15-a-side game from sevens.

Brown, who can play at wing or full-back, has been included in the England Women’s training squad for the rematch against France at Twickenham on Saturday.

Scrum-half Natasha Hunt, who missed England’s Grand Slamclinching win over Italy at the start of November after testing positive for coronavirus, has returned to the squad.

Hunt’s Gloucester-Hartpury teammate Ellena Perry is a new front-row option. A strong second-half performance helped England secure a 33-10 win over France in Grenoble last weekend.

Head coach Simon Middleton said: “Last Saturday’s game against France was a tough and physical affair and we expect more of the same.

“We’ve spoken a lot about resilience, which we’ve shown in our training and our two matches at the start of the season to date.

“While we were delighted with the result and much of the performance in France, we know we need to be better this weekend.”

Hunt’s return increases Middleton’s options at nine after Claudia MacDonald and Leanne Riley played scrum-half in the wins over Italy and France respectively.

Forwards: Sarah Beckett (Harlequins Women, 19 caps), Shaunagh Brown (Harlequins Women, 19 caps), Poppy Cleall (Saracens Women, 42 caps), Amy Cokayne (Harlequins Women, 52 caps), Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins Women, 55 caps), Lark Davies (Loughborough Lightning, 27 caps), Detysha Harper (Loughborough Lightning, 3 caps), Sarah Hunter (Loughborough Lightning, 123 caps),

Laura Keates (Worcester Warriors Women, 61 caps), Heather Kerr (Wasps FC Ladies, 23 caps), Alex Matthews (Worcester Warriors Women, 39 caps), Harriet Millar-Mills (Wasps FC Ladies, 57 caps), Marlie Packer (Saracens Women, 73 caps), Ellena Perry (Gloucester-Hartpury Women, 9 caps), Morwenna Talling (Loughborough Lightning, 2 caps) Abbie Ward (Harlequins Women, 44 caps)

Backs: Holly Aitchison (Saracens Women, 0 caps), Jess Breach (Harlequins Women, 15 caps), Abbie Brown (Loughborough Lighting, 5 caps), Katy Daley-Mclean (Sale Sharks Women, 115 caps), Abby Dow (Wasps FC Ladies, 14 caps), Zoe Harrison (Saracens Women, 26 caps), Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury Women, 54 caps), Megan Jones (Wasps FC Ladies, 10 caps), Ellie Kildunne (Wasps FC Ladies, 10 caps), Claudia MacDonald (Wasps FC Ladies, 11 caps), Leanne Riley (Harlequins Women, 39 caps), Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 2 caps), Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning, 91 caps), Kelly Smith (Gloucester-Hartpury Women, 14 caps), Lagi Tuima (Harlequins Women, 5 caps)