Preview: Red Roses vs USA
Everything you need to know ahead of the Red Roses' match against USA at Sandy Park.
The Red Roses head to Exeter looking to seal their 24th win in a row against USA as Simon Middleton's preparations for New Zealand this October continue.
Emily Scarratt once again captains the side that features inside centre Tatyana Heard for the first time since February 2019. Cath O'Donnell returns from injury to slot in at lock alongside Rosie Galligan while left winger Claudia MacDonald will run out on the Sandy Park turf for the first time since signing for her new club, Exeter Chiefs, this summer.
- When? Saturday, 3 September
- Kick-off? 1500 BST
- Where? Sandy Park, Exeter
- Coverage? Watch on ITV 4 and ITV Hub, and follow on England Rugby Instagram and Twitter
Head Coach Rob Cain has made a few changes to the USA starting fifteen that beat Scotland 21-17 last weekend. Kristine Sommer comes into the side at lock while Rachel Johnson moves from openside to blindside flanker in the back row. The in-form Hope Rogers and Alev Kelterretain their place at loosehead prop and full-back respectively, while fly-half Megan Foster will start on the bench on her home ground.
USA come into the contest off the back of a 21-17 victory over Scotland in Edinburgh in the first match of their UK tour. The Eagles' form has been mixed with two wins against the Scots and Australia and two losses against New Zealand and Canada from their last four matches. Their last visit to England ended in a resounding 89-0 defeat to the Red Roses but there have been some notable changes to the squad since then with some Exeter Chiefs in their ranks playing on their home ground. Cain's side currently sit fifth in the World Rugby rankings but will have to show drastic improvement from last November to capitalise on their chances at Sandy Park and walk away with a positive result in their last match before their trip to New Zealand.
England are on a record-breaking run of 23 consecutive wins after defeating France in May to win the Grand Slam and with it their fourth straight TikTok Women's Six Nations title. The Red Roses' incredible form has stretched four years with their last defeat coming in March 2018 and their last loss on home soil further back still, in November 2016. Middleton's side will now hope to carry that momentum forward into the World Cup in New Zealand this October with positive performances in their upcoming warm-up matches against USA this Saturday and Wales on 14 September.
Teams
Red Roses
15. Ellie Kildunne
14. Jess Breach
13. Emily Scarratt (C)
12. Tatyana Heard
11. Claudia MacDonald
10. Zoe Harrison
9. Natasha Hunt
1. Hannah Botterman
2. Amy Cokayne
3. Bryony Cleall
4. Rosie Galligan
5. Cath O’Donnell
6. Zoe Aldcroft (VC)
7. Sadia Kabeya
8. Poppy Cleall
Finishers
16. Connie Powell
17. Maud Muir
18. Shaunagh Brown
19. Morwenna Talling
20. Vicky Fleetwood
21. Leanne Infante
22. Helena Rowland
23. Holly Aitchison
USA
15. Alev Kelter
14. Jennine Detiveaux
13. Eti Haungatau
12. Katana Howard
11. Lotte Clapp
10. Gabby Cantorna
9. Olivia Ortiz
1. Hope Rogers
2. Joanna Kitlinski
3. Nick James
4. Hallie Taufoou
5. Kristine Sommer
6. Rachel Johnson
7. Georgie Perris-Redding
8. Kate Zackary
Replacements
16. Catie Benson
17. Charli Jacoby
18. Evi Ashenbrucker
19. Elizabeth Cairns
20. Carly Waters
21. Megan Foster
22. Meya Bizer
Views from camp
Head coach Simon Middleton: "It's a little bit of a discovery game regarding some final choices. We just want to see them in a game situation now because we've been training for eight weeks so we're just absolutely desperate to play. There's a few combinations we want to look at and a few individual performances and off the back of this we're probably going to make some 50/50 calls on the squad.
"Claudia's come back in great form, fit and healthy again and she has been shining in training, as has everybody really, so it makes selection that much tougher. One of the beauties of the squad is that we've got so many players that can come across to several positions.
"If anybody thinks it's going to be an easy game it is definitely not. I know there was ten changes in that team that played Scotland against the team that played us so it's a very different side so it's a very different look to the side in terms of how they play too. There's a lot more structure and shape about them, they've always had that physicality and they're bouncing as a side at the moment. They're very confident and we're wary of them. We've prepared fantastically well this week and there's a lot on this game, individually and collectively so we want to be at our very best."
Emily Scarratt (C): "Pre-season has been brutal but in a good way. It's been awesome to be with the girls for such a long period of time and the staff have done a good job of making the first bit good fun and challenging. Ultimately, we just want to play rugby; it's been a little while and that's all we want to do, we want to play games and not against each other so it's a really exciting opportunity this weekend.
"We've got these two games for everybody to put their hand up and show what they're about. Selections are never a nice period of time but they're an inevitability. Everybody's trying to put their best foot forward and support each other because we know that it's a tough time for everybody. You just hope that everybody's able to show what they're really about and then Midds will make his decision.
"We know a lot about them because quite a few play in the Premiership and I'm sure the last result against us was a really tough one and they've come a long way since then. We saw their Scotland game last weekend and they played some reallygood stuff, you could see that they've developed in lots of different areas so we know it's going to be a challenge and it will be a familiar surrounding for a lot of them so we're hoping the Sandy Park crowd gets behind us."
Previous encounters
- 21 November 2021: England 89 - 0 USA - Sixways, Worcester
- 28 June 2019: USA 5 - 38 England - Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Centre, San Diego
- 9 November 2018: England 57 - 5 USA - StoneX Stadium, London
- 17 August 2017: England 47 - 26 USA - Billings Park, Dublin
Key stats
- The Red Roses have won 23 matches in a row
- Simon Middleton's side have played the USA 19 times since their first encounter at the 1991 World Cup in Cardiff and won on 18 of those occasions, losing only once back in 1993
- England have won 54 of their 57 test matches, only losing to New Zealand twice and France once over that period.
- England are undefeated on home soil since November 2016, winning 28 matches on the spin.
