Burns gets chance to make her case
BRISTOL second row Delaney Burns will make her England debut today in muchchanged Red Roses pack to face Italy.
Vice-captain Zoe Aldcroft – usually a lock – will start at No.8 for the first time following Sarah Hunter’s retirement. With Poppy Cleall injured, Cath O’Donnell starts at lock, while Harlequins flanker Emily Robinson, 22, could make her debut off the bench.
Flanker Marlie Packer is captain and head coach Simon Middleton said she “will want to stamp her own brand of leadership on the team”.
“Delaney Burns has impressed us immensely,” Middleton added. “Her lineout and set-piece understanding is strong and she deserves her start.
“Giovanni Raineri and his staff will have their Italy team well prepared for this Six Nations, and that was reflected in their strong opening performance.”
England are bidding for a fifth successive Six Nations title and beat Scotland 58-7 last weekend, while Italy challenged World Cup semi-finalists
France in a 22-12 loss. Centre Amber Reed is also injured and Tatyana Heard and Lagi Tuima are at 12 and 13 respectively, while Sarah McKenna is brought onto the bench.
England’s depth is most challenged at prop, where Detysha Harper is added to the injury list after sustaining an Achilles tendon issue in training that will keep her out for the rest of the tournament.
Last week’s debutant Mackenzie Carson starts at loosehead, with Sarah Bern at tighthead. Liz Crake and Kelsey Clifford, who also made their debuts last week, are on the bench. England’s injured props include Hannah Botterman, Bryony Cleall and Maud Muir, while Shaunagh Brown has retired, and
Vickii Cornborough is missing the tournament for personal reasons. The Red Roses are also without key leaders fly-half Zoe Harrison and centre Emily Scarratt while lock Abbie Ward will be absent for the Six Nations through pregnancy.
Over 12,000 tickets have been sold for Franklin’s Gardens and Middleton added: “It’s great to have Northampton hosting this fixture. We had a memorable day at Franklin’s Gardens in the 2021 autumn international against New Zealand and hopefully we can put on a show.
“We were pleased to get our campaign up and running with a good win against Scotland last weekend which was a fitting send-off for long-time captain Sarah Hunter.”
Italy have made three changes from last week. Sofia Stefan moves to the wing after playing scrumhalf on her debut, while changes in the centres see Michela Sillari and Beatrice Rigoni come in. At half-back, Veronica Madia lines up alongside Sara Barattin, who wins her 113th cap.
“We face one of the strongest teams in the world. We’ll be trying to show the best version of the team,” said Raineri.