England Rugby Union Team Makes Several Changes for Canada Rematch
Star full-back Ellie Kildunne is among those moved to the bench as England seeks to rebound from a recent defeat.
England has made significant adjustments to its lineup for the upcoming match against Canada, including dropping star full-back Ellie Kildunne to the bench. The changes come in response to England's first loss in four years.
Emma Sing will start at full-back in Kildunne's place for Saturday's game in Ottawa. Tatyana Heard and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, who started in the previous match, have been removed from the matchday squad entirely. Helena Rowland and Mia Venner will fill the inside centre and wing positions, respectively.
In another change, Sadia Kabeya, who recently returned from a leg injury, will start, with Alex Matthews, a two-time Rugby World Cup winner, moving to the bench. Flo Robinson and Hollie Aitchison are named as replacements in the half-back positions.
Sing has previously started at full-back for England during the Six Nations campaign, while Venner made her debut in 2020 at age 17. She has since earned four more caps and was a strong performer earlier this year in wins against Scotland and Italy, finishing last season as the PWR's joint top try-scorer. Moloney-MacDonald had a costly error in the previous game against Canada.
England coach John Mitchell stated, "We've earned a strong period but nothing about it is owed to us going forward. Friday [Saturday 00:00 BST] is an opportunity to apply sustained pressure, learn from what we missed and come out the other side better than we went in."